dverJ Soul THE NAIIOmL SERIES OF SIANDARD SCHOOL-BOOKS COMPRISES STANDARD WORKS In eTCry departmeot of instruction and of every grade. The teacher in want of a book for any par- ticular purpose or class, will always find the best of its kind in our catalogue. Ko other Etries even claims to be as complete as this. None is so extensive or so judiciously stlccted. Among so many volumes a high standard of merit is maintained, as it is our aim never to permit our imprint upon a poor or unworthy book. It is also our plan to make books rot for a class or sect, but for the whole country — unobjectionable to parties and creeds, while inculcating the great principles of political freedom and Christianity, upon which all right-minded persons are agreed. Ilcnce, and from their almost universal circulation, the name — " National Series." Among the principal volumes are Parker 8t ^XTatsOn's Rfiarlfirs— in ♦wnrtistlnct spnVs; »n/-V, rnmnloto in itself. Tlie A'ational the most thoi volumes, for series. Spe Davies' HI; Ac— Cmplel called for, an the places of Barnes' Bi — For one tei interesting bj the most impc Monteith's — These work a number of ^ Steele's ST: Chemistr they make sc Clark's Dia novel analysi Worman's Ac— Upon a i new ones. Searing-'s C and others, wi T~>ARE MENT English I,at Composition, finers, Dictioi end's Series ( History .—Ho England— Ri( Pen and J'ei — Smitu a M Drawing. Jfatural Scit Chemistry— M CUAMBERS' Zi Important )l THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES every want of rSf in smaller the companion Purveying, ions have been blished to take hers to follow, ally forgotten, grouping about "hyaieal.— tr series. From >ok he wants. hilosophy, lall precedent; ct lessons and n, French, >rs, with signal I \ Orations, egant editions. exts published | tated Authors, language— Oe- nicon—NoBTH- sal- Berard'3 stical Hist, lal Steel Pens -Allen's Map ihy— POHTER'S OD's Botany— •gy- niWTINO- loN's Fine Arts— Ciiamplin'3 I'oliiical Economy— Manskikld's Government Manual— Aldkn's Eihlos— BnoOKS' Manual of Devotion- Tkacy's School Record, Ac. OTlie Teacher's JAbrary/ consistsof over .30 volumes of strictly professional literature, rsPage's Theory and Practice- Hoi^brook's Normal Methods— Nohthe.vd's Teacher's Assistant, Ac. A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE of all the-ic and many more may be obtained by eocloslng a stamp to the Publishers, A. 2, BARNES & COMPAHY, National Educational Publishers, 111 & 113 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK. THE WORMAH SERIES IN MODE RN LANGUAGE. k Complete Course in German By JAMES H. "WORM AN, AM. EMBBACma COMIPLET'E: GrERIVIAlSr GrR,A.nvnVtA.R, GrER]yL^N READER, GERIVLAN COPY-BOOKS. GERMiAN ECHO. IN PREPAEATION, HISTORY OE GERMIAlSr LITERATURE, GERIMAISr AISTD EISTG-JUSH LEXICOJST. I. TITE OntMAX on A MM A Its of Worman are widely preferred on ac- count of their clear, explicit method (on the couversation plan), introducing a system of analogy and comparison with the learners' own language and others commonly studied. The arts of speaking, of understanding the spoken language, and of correct pronun- ciation, are treated wicli great success. The new classificatious of nouns and of irregular verbs are of great value to the pupil. The use of heavy type to indicate etymological changes, is new. The Vocabu- lary is synonymical — also a new feature. II. WOKMAN'S GT:JtMAN HT: A I) IS It contains progressive selections from a wide ran^e of the very best German authors, including three complete plays, which are usually purchased in separate form for advauctid students who have com- pleted the ordinary Reader. It has Bio,'raphie.5 of eminent authors. Notes after the test. References to all Ger- man Grammars in common use, and an adequate Vocabulary; also. Exercises for translation into the German. III. WORM AX'S OKJtMAX I^CIfO (Deutsdtes Echo) Is entirely a new thing in this country. It presents familiar colloquial exercises without translation, and will teach fluent conversation in a few months of diligent study. No other method will ever make the student at home in a foreign language. By this he thinks in. as well as speaks it. For the time being he is a German through and through. The laborious process of translating his thoughts no longer Impedes free unembarrassed utterance. f OBIAFS COMPLETE FRENCH COURSE IS INAUGURATED BT L'EOIiO IDE I».A.I^IS, Or, " French Echo ;" on a plan identical with the German Echo described above. Tkis wiU be foLowed in due course by the other volumes of THE ereistch: series, VIZ.: ^ COMrLKTK OJtAMMAIt, [A F It E X C n ItEADEIt, AJf ELEMEXTAHY GRAMMAJi, I ^ F R E X C II T. EX ICON, A. MISTOItY OF FltEXCa LITERATURE. WORMAN'S WORKS are adopted as fast as published by many of the best institutions of the country. In completeness, adaptation, and homogeneity for consistent courses of instruction, they are simply XJIVIVI VAILED. THE HOME CYCLOPEDIA cyclopi:dia OF LITERATURE AND THE FINE ARTS; OOMPRKrNG OOMPLETE AND ACCURATE DEFINITIONS OF ALL TEEMS EMPLOYED IM BELLF«S-LETTEES, PHILOSOPHY, THEOLOGY, LAW, MYTHOLOGY. I'AINTING, MUSIC, SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURE, AND ALL KINDRED ARTS. COMPILED AXD ARRANGED BY lEORGE RIPLEY and BAYARD TAYLOR. A. S. BARNES AND COMPANY, NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 1873. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by A. ?. BARNES & CO. In thb Olerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New-York. NX TEEFACE. The cLaractef of this work is fully set forth in the title-])age, yet a few words of introduction still seem necessary, fiu-ther to elucidate its o-eneral scope and aim. llie design of the compilei's has been '■.o furnish the reading communit}', and more especially the large class of students in our colleges and seminaries of learning, with a comprehensive handbook or lexicon of all branches of Literature and Art. A work of this kind has long been needed. The great aim of all modern systems of instruc- tion is to ])resent knowledge in as concise and accessible a form as pos- sible, and bring the results of many difterent theories and systems into forms of practical convenience. In this respect the present work will be found adapted to the purposes of the author, the artist, the student of any Sii:-^ learned profession, and the reader. No technical tenu of genei'al use in 5J any of the departments it includes will be found wanting, while many words, which in a stiict sense belong neitlier to literature nor art, have been added on account of some peculiar association or ajiplication. In Literature, the work embraces all terms of logic and rhetoric, cnticism, style, and language ; sketches of works which stand as types of their age or tongue ; reviews of all systems of philosophy and theology, both of ancient and modern times ; and a complete series of the history of literature among all nations, made u}) wholly from original sources. All the most important terms of common and international law, all terli- nical words and jjhrases employed in theology and jiliilosophy, and \ number of scieiititic and historical plifases, which have become familiarized in Irterature, have been included. The explanations are not confined to mere definitions ; whereever it has been found necessary, illustrative wood- cuts have been introduced, wliich will greatly assist the reader in his knowledge of architectural terms. 1546080 VJ PREFACE. Li Art, the department of paintinor, sculpture, and architecture, have been ti-eated as fully and carefully as the nature and limits of the work would 2)ermit. While a mere technical array of terms has been a^'oided, care has been taken to explain all the words ; and phrases of art-criticism have been defined at some length, as of interest and value to the general reader, especially since criticism has been recognized as a distinct depart- ment of hterature. All words relating to the art and practice of music have been hkewise retained. In compiling the work, liberal use has been made of Maunder's Lite- rary and Scientific Treasury^ and Brande's Dictionary of Science and Art. The Imperial Dictionary^ the Leipzig Conversations-Lexicon, the Art-Journal Dictionaiy, and a number of other works have been coiLSulted : while the article entitled " Literature," comprising sketches of the rise and progress of hterature among ancient and modern nations, has been prepared expressly for the present work. The definitions copied from the above- named authorities have been adaj^ted to the usages of the United States, and much that was irrelevant, on account of its apphcatiou to the local laws or customs of foreign nations, has been purposely omitted. The work, therefore, as it now stands, is intended to fui'iiish a thorough ^■oca- bulary of Art and Litei'ature, specially designed for the use of sschools, colleges, and the great reading commmiitv of +lif ^""^'lited States. New- York, Seo^ 1861 CijclnjicMii of Citrratiiit nnh tlie fmt Mb, A IS the fir:*t letter, anil the first vowel, uf the ali)habet in every known language, except the Ethiopia; and is used either us a word, an abbreviation, or a sign. If pronounced open, as in father, it is the simplest and easiest of all sounds ; the first, in fact, uttered by human beings in their most infantile state, serv- ing to express many and even opposite emotions, according to the mode in which it is utteresl. A has therefore, perhaps, had the first place in the alphabet as- signed to it. In the English language it has four different sounds : the broad sound, as in fall ; the open, as in FATHER ; the slender, or close, as in FACE ; and the short sound, as in fat. Most of the other modern languages, as French, Italian, German, &c., have only the open, or Italian a, pronounced .short or long. — Among the Greeks and Romans, A was used as an arithmetical sign : by the former for 1 ; by the latter for 500 ; or with a stroke over it for 5,000. The Romans also very extensively used it as an abbreviation ; which praciice we still retain, as A.M.j artium inagister ; A.D., anno domini, d^'c. — A, a, or aa, in medi- cal prescriptions, denotes ana, or equal parts of each. — A, in music, is the nomi- nal of the sixth note in the diatonic scale ; in algebra, it denotes a known quantity; in logic, an universal aflirma- tive proposition ; in heraldry, the dexter chief, or chief point in an escutcheon ; and it is the first of the dominical letters in the calendar. AAN'CHE, is a term applied to wind instruments with reeds or tongues, as the clariiinot, hautboy, &c. AA'NE.S, the tones and modes of the modern Greek music. AB, is the 11th month of the c'vil year, and the 5th of the ecclesiastical in the Hebrew calendar. In the Syriac cal- endar, it is the last of the summer months. The eastern Christians called the first day of this month Suuin Miriam, the fast of Mary, and the 1.5th, on which day the fast ended, Fathr- Miriam. ABACIS'CUS, in ancient architecture, the square compartments of Mosaic pave- ments. AB'ACUS, in architecture, is the su- perior member of the capital of a column, to which it serves as a kind of crown. In its origin, it was intended to represent a square tile laid over a basket ; it still re- tains this form in the Tuscan, Doric, and Ionic orders ; but in the Corinthian and Composite, its four sides are arched in- wards, having some ornament in the middle. — Abacus, among ancient mathe- maticians, was a table strewed over with dust, or sand, on which they drew their figures. — Abacus, in arithmetic, an an- cient instrument for reckoning with coun- ters. It is used in various forms ; but the most common arrangement is made by drawing parallel lines distant from each other at least twice the diameter of a counter ; which jslaced on the lowest line, signifies 1 ; on the second 10 ; on the third, 100 ; on the fourth, 1000 ; and so on. In the intermediate spaces, the same counters are estimated at one half of the value of the line immediately superior. AB'BE, a French word, literally mean- ing an abbot ; but the character denoted by it, has long ceased to be of any official nature. Before the Revolution, tlie term designated a body of persons, who had little connection with the church, but who followed a course of theological study, in hopes that the king would con- fer on them a real abbey, that is, a part of the revenues of a monastery. They were employed in various literary pur- suits, and exerted an important influence on the character of the country. Either CYCl.OPKUIA OK I.IlKIJAil KE [aJ)N in the capacity of a friend or spiritual counsellor, an abbe was found in almost every distinguished family in France. AB'BESS, the superior of a nunnery, or other religious community of women. She has the same authority as an abbot, but cannot exercise any of the spiritual functions. AB'BEY, a religious house governed by a superior, under the title of an abbot or abbess. The abbeys of England, at their dissolution under Henry VIII., bt-oame lay-sees ; when no less than 190 were dissolved, the yearly revenue of which has been estimated at 2,S53,000Z. At present, an abbey is, in general, the cathedral or ejiL^copal church of the see or dioce.-;e in wlr.ch it stand.s. AB'BOT, was originally the name of every aged monk ; but, since the 8th century, it denotes the head of a monas- tery. In most countries, they held a rank next to that of bishop, and had votes in the ecclesiastical councils. At present they are chiefly distinguished into regular and commendatory ; the former being real monks or religious, and the latter onlv seculars. ABBREVIA'TION, a contracted man- ner of writing words so as to retain only the initial letters. Such abbreviations were in common use with the Romans, as they are with us, to save time and space. — Abbreviation, in music, one dash, through the stem of a minim or crotchet, or under a seinibreve, converts it into as many quavers as it is equal to in time : two dashes into semiquavers ; three into demisemiquavers ; and so on. When minims are connected together like qua- vers, semiquavers, &o., they are to be repeated as many times as if they were really such notes. An oblique dash through the 2d, 31, and 4th lines after an arpeggio, signifies that it is to be repeated ; for quavers, a single dash being used ; for semiquavers, a double one ; and so on. ABBRE'VIATORS, officers who assist the vice-chancellor in drawing up the Pope's briefs, and reducing petitions into proper form, to bo converted into bulls. ABDICA'TION, properly speaking, is a voluntary resignation of a dignity, particularly a regal one ; and if he in whose favor the abdication was made, dies, or declines the olfered dignity, the right of the ablicatcd prince is reverted. Involuntary resignations are, however, also termed abdications, as in the case of Napoleon's abdication at Fontaine- bleau. ABDITA'RIUM, or ABDITO'RUJ[, in archteology, a secret place for hiding or preserving valuables. ABDLX"riON, the crime of unlawfully taking away, cither by force, or fraud and persuasion, the person of another, whether of child, wife, ward, heiress, or woman generall}'. ABE'LIANS, or A'BELITES, a Chris- tian sect which sprung from the (Gnos- tics. They abstained from mati imony, but adopted the children of others, and brought them up in their own principles. ABEV'ANCE, in law, the expectancy of an estate, or possession : thus, if lands be leased from one person for life, with reversion to another for years, the latter estate is in abeyance till the death of the lessee. It is a fixed principle of law, that the fee-simple of all lands is in somebody, or else in abeyance. A'BIB, the first month of the Hebrew year, more generally known by the Chal- dean name of Nisan. It is first men- tioned in the 4th verse of the ISth chap- ter of Exodus. ABJURA'TION, a forswearing, or re- nouncing by oath : in the old law it sig- nified a sworn banishment, or an oath taken to forsake the realm forever. In its modern, and now more usual signifi- cation, it extends to persons, and doc- trines, as well as places. ABLATIVE case, the sixth case of the Latin nouns implied in English by the preposition./'roOT. ABLEC'TI, in ancient Rome, a chosen band of foreign troops, selected from the e.vtraordinurii sociorum. ABLEG'iMINA, in Roman antiquity, choice parts of the entrails of victims, call- ed also projicicc, porricia:, prosecta, and proscgmina. The ablcgmina were sprin- kled with flour, and burnt on the altar ; the priests pouring some ^dne on them. ABLU'TION, a religious ceremony of washing the body, still used by the Turks and Mohammedans. It originated in the obvious necessity of practising clean- liness, for the prevention of diseases in hot countries ; for which purpose it was made a religous rite ; and by an easy transition of idea, the purity of the body was made to typify the purity of the soul : an idea the more rational, as it is perhaps physically certain that outward wretchedness debases the inward mind. ABNOR'MAL, contrary to the natural condition. In Art, the term abnormal ia applied to everything that deviates from the rules. of good taste, and is analogous to tasteless, and overcharged. ABS] AM) mi: KINK Aitrs. ABOL'LA, a kinl of niilitai-y g.irmcnt worn by the Grcolc aiil lloiiian saldiers. ABORI'tINES, a naiin; s^iven to the original or fir!^t inhabitants of any coun- try ; but more partieulurly used for the ancient iniiabitants of Latium. when jEneas with liis Trojans cainc into Italj-. ABOU'TIUN, in •Ajiguratlvc sense, any proJuctii)n that does not come to maturity, or any design oi project which fails before it is properly matured. AB'RAt'ADAB'IlA, a term of incanta- tion, formerly used as a spell or charm, and worn abou'. the neck as an amulet against several diseases. In order to give it the m">re virtue, it was to be written as many times as the word eon- tains letters, omitting always the last letter of the former, and so forming a triangle. But charms and incantations have had their da}' ; and abracadabra, if used at all, now serves as a word of jest, like hocus pocus, and other unmeaning gibberish. ABRAX'AS, or ABRA.S AX', in church- history, a mystical term expressing the supreme God, uuder whom the Basilidians supposed 36.5 dependent deities. It was the principle of the Gnostic hierarchy. — Abraxa.s, or Abrasax Stones, are very numerous, and represent the human body, with the head of a cock, and the feet of a reptile. The n.Mne of Abrasax stone is, in modern times, applied to a variety of gems that exhibit enigmatical composi- tions, but have not the trae characteristics of the Basilirliaris. ABRIDG'MEXT, the bringing the con- tents of a book within a short compass. The perfection of an abridgment consists in taking only what is material and sub- stantial, and reiecting all superfluities, whether of sentiment oi style : in which light, abridgments must be allowed to be eminently serviceable to all whose occu- pations pi-event ihem from devoting much time to literary pursuits. ABSCIS'SIOX', in rhetoric, a figure of speech, whereby the speaker stops short in the middle of his disourse, and leaves his hearers to draw their own inferences from the facts he has stated. ABSEXTEE', a word of modern times, applied to land-owners and capitalists, who expend, their incomes in another countrv. AB'SOLUTE, whatever is in all re- spects unlimited and uncontrolled in its own nature : it is opposed to the relatltc, and to whatever exists only conditionally. Thus the absolute is the principle of entire completion, the universal idea and fundamental principle of all things. The question of absolute beauty, i. e. the prototype of the beautiful, is the most important within the reach of Art, in- volving the foundation of ^Esthetics, and of the philosopliy of the beautiful. ABSOLU'TIOX, a ceremony practised in various Christian churches. In the Roman Catholic, the priest not only declares absolution to the repentant sin- ner, but is believed to have the power of actually releasing him from his sins: and this authority is declared by the council of Trent to belong to him in its full extent. The Church of England, in the Onler for the Visitation of the Sick, has retained nearly the same words ; but her authorities seem not to be exactly agreed as to the force and effect of the absolution so conferred. In the daily service, the words of the absolution are merely declaratory. ABSORBED, in Italian, Proscluga- to ; in French, LJnibu. When the oil with which a picture is painted has sunk into the ground or canvas, leaving the color flat or dead, and the touches indis- tinct, it is said to be absorbed. ABSORBEXT-GROUXDS are picture- grounds prepared in distemper upon either panel or canvas ; they have the property of imbibing the redundant oil with which the pigments are mixed, of impasting, and are used principally for the sake of expedition. AB'SIS. or AP'SIS, in architecture, a word used by ecclesiastical authors to signify that part of the church wherein the clergy were seated, or the altar was placed. The apsis was either circular or polygonal on the plan, and domed over at top as a covering. It consisted of two parts, the altar and the presby- tery, or sanctuary : at the middle of the semicircle was the throne of the bishop; and at the centre of the diame- ter was placed the altar, towards the nave, from which it was separated by an open balustrade, or railing. On the altar was placed the cibarium and cup. AB'STIXEXCE, the abstaining or re- fraining from what is either useful, agreeable, or pernicious; but more espe- cially, from eating and drinking. In the Romish church there are " days of abstinence," as well as " fast days ;" the former imi)orting a partial, and the latter, almost a total abstinence from food. AB'STIXEXTS, a sect of Christ ian? who appeared in France about the end of the third century, professing celibacy. rYri.orKniA ov i.irEit.viunK [acc and abstinence from particular kinds of food, &c. AB'STRACT, a concise but general view of some large work ; in which sense it differs from an abridsrnent only as being shorter, and its entering less mi- nutely into particulars ; and from an ex- tract, as this last is only a particular view of some part or passage of it. ABSTRACTION, in logic, that opera- tion of the mind whereby it forms ab stract ideas. The faculty of abstraction stands directly opposite to that of com pounding. By composition we consider those things together, which, in reality, are not joined together in any one exist- ence. And by abstracti(m, we consider those things separately and apart, which in reality do not exist apart. In its pas- sive? sense it implies occupation with one's self to the exclusion of other objects. ACADEM'ICS, certain philosophers who followed the doctrine of Socrates and Plato, as to the uncertainty of knowl- edge and the incomprehen.sibility of truth. Academic, in this sense, amounts to much the same with Platonist ; the difference between them being only in point of time. They who embraced the system of Plato, among the ancients, were called Academic! ; whereas those who did the same since the restoration of learning, have assumed the denomina- tion of Platonists. ACAD'EMY, in Grecian antiquity, a large villa in one of the suburbs of Athens, where the sect of philosophers called Academics held their assemblies. It look its name from Aeademus, a cele- brated Athenian, who resided there, and became celebrated from its being the place in which Plato taught philosophy. — Academy, in the modern acceptation, is a society of persons united for the pursuit of some objects of study and ap- plication, as the Royal Academy of Arts of London, and the Royal Academy of Sciences of Berlin. The first academy of science, in modern times, was estab- lished at Naples, by Baptista Porta, in 1560. ACAD'EMY FIGURE, in painting, a drawing usually made with black and white chalk, on tinted paper, after the living model. Sometimes Academy-fig- ure is understood to be one in whicli the action is constrained, anil the parts witli- out mutual connection with each otlior, as frequently hiippcns to those who model from a study which was only intended to exhibit the development of certain mus- cle3 or members of the body. r^^ ACAN'TIIUS, the bear's claw, a plant used in Greece and Italy on account of its beautiful indented leaves and graceful growth for ' (^ — — gar liMi iilots /\ 2^l\ and also in il'f works of Art ^"i?/''^ f'"' the bor- ^^^^.^^<^;kj ' :>S>^^ b r o i d e r e d garments, tiie c Iges of vases, for wreaths round dri-iking cups; and in architecture, for ornauenting the capitals of columns, particularly those of the Corinthian order, and the Roman, or Composite, which sprang from it. The type of the Corinthian capital may be found on numerous Egyptian capitals. ACAT'ALEPSY, {acatalepsia,) among ancient philosophers, the impossibility of comprehending something ; uncertainty in science. ACCA'LIA, in Roman antiquity, solemn festivals held in honor of Aoca Laurentia, the nurse of Romulus : they were also called haiirentalla. ACCENDEN'TES, or ACCENSO'- RES, in the church of Rome, an inferior rank of ministers, whose business it is to light, snutf, and trim the candles and tapers. ACCEN'DONES, in Roman antiquity, oflScers in the gladiatorial schools, who excited and animated the combatants dur- ing the engagement. ACCEN'SI, in Roman antiquity, certain supernumerary soldiers, designed to sup- ply the place of those who should be killed, or anywise disabled. — Accensi also denoted a kind of inferior officers, appointed to attend the Roman magis- trates. ACCENT, a molification of the voice in ])ronouncing certain words or syll.a- blos : also, the marks on the words or syllables ; as, the iu3ute accent, marked thus ('), the grave accent thus ('), the circumfiex thus ('). This is called gram- matical accent, but there is also a rhe- torical accent or emphasis, which is de- signed to give to a sentence distinctness and clearness. In a sentence, therefore, tlie stress is laid on the most important wonl, and in a word on the most impor- tant syllable. When the accent falls on a vowel, that vo'wel has its long sound, as in po'rous; but when it falls on a consonant, the preceding vowel is short, ACC] AND TIIK l-INK AKT.S. as in potter. Accents also not only give a pleasing variety and beauty to the moilulation of the voice, but often serve to ascertain the true moaning of the word — In music, accent dL^notcs a certain modulation or warbling of the sounds, to express passions, either naturally bj' the voice, or artificially by instruments. Every bar or measure is divided into the accented and unaccented parts ; the for- mer being the principal, on which the spirit of the music depends. ACCEPT'ANCE, in commerce, is when a man subscribes, signs, and makes him- self a debtor for the sum contained in a bill of exchange, or other obligation, drawn upon, or addressed to him ; which is done by his writing the word "Ac- cepted" on it, and signing his naiuc. ACCEPT'OR, the person who accepts a bill of exchange by signing it, and thereby becoming bound to pay its con- tents. ACCESSARY, in law, a person who aids in the commission of some felonious action. There are two kinds of acces- saries, viz. before the fact, and after it. The first is he who commands and pro- cures another to commit an offence ; who, though he be absent when it is com- mitted, is now regarded as much a prin- cipal as the actual offender. The ac- cessary after the fact is one who receives, comforts, or assists the offender, knowing him to be such. In the highest crimes, as high treason, Ac, and the lowest, as riots, forcible entries, &c , there are no ac- cessaries, but all concerned arc principals. ACCESSORIES, objects and materi- als independent of the figure in a picture, and which, without being essential to the composition, are nevertheless useful, whether under the picturesque relation, to fill up those parts that without them would appear naked, to establish a bal- ance between the masses, to form the contrast, to contribute to the harmony of colors, and so add to the splendor and richness of a picture ; or, under the re- lation of poetic composition, to facilitate the understanding of the subject, recall- ing some one of the circumstances which have preceded, or which will follow the action ; to make known the condition and habits of the figures ; to characterize their general manners, and through them the age and country in which the action takes place, «ic ; such arc draperies va- riously adjusted, trophies afli.xe 1 to the walls, devices, sculptured divinities, fur- niture, carpets, lamps, groups of vases, arms, utensils, Ac. ACCI.\CATU'RA, in music, a sweep, ing of the chorda of the pianoforte, and dropping sprinkled notes usual in accom- paniments. AC CIDEXCE, a display of the varia- tions of words according to their govern- ment or sense. ACCIDENS, or per accidens, a term applied to the operations of natural bodies, in distinction from per se ; thus fire is said to burn per se, but a heated iron per accidens. ACCIDENT, that which belongs ac- cidentally, not essentially, to a thing, as sweetness, softness, &c. ACCIDENTAL, in philosophy, a term applied to effects which result from causes occurring by accident. ACCIDENTAL COLORS, colors de- pending on some affection of the eye, and not belonging to light itself, or any quality of the luminous object. If we look for a short time steadily with one e.ye upon any bright-colored spot, as a wafer on a sheet of paper, and immedi- ately after turn the same eye to another part of the paper, a similar spot will be seen, but of a different color. If the wafer be red, the imaginary spot will be green ; if black, it will be changed into white ; the color thus appearing being always what is termed the complemen- tary color of that on which the eye was fixed. ACCIDENTAL LIGHT, secondary lights, which are not accounted for by the prevalent effect. ACCIDENTAL POINT, in perspec- tive, the point in which a straight line drawn from the e3'e, parallel to another straight line, cuts the perspective plane ACCIDENTALS, in painting, are those fortuitous or chance effects, occur- ring from luminous rays falling on cer- tain objects, by which they are brought into stronger light than they otherwise would be, and their shadows are conse- quently of greater intensity. This sort of effect is to bo seen in almost every picture by Rembrandt, who used tliCm to a very great extent. There are some fine instances of accidentals in Raphael's Transfiguration, and particularly in the colebraterl picture, the Notte of Coreg- gio, in which the light emanates from the infant Christ. — Accidentals, in mu.sic, are those flats and sharps which are pre- fixed to the notes in a movement, and which would not be considered so by tho flats and sharps in the signature. ACCLAMATION, in Roman antiqui- ty, a shout raised by the people, to tes- 6 CVfLOl'KIJlA OF LMKHATURK [acc tlfy their {ipplansc, or approbation of their princes, generals, ,tc; In ages when people were more aoeustoinod to give full utterance to their feelings, ac- clamations were very common, whenever a mass of people was influenceil by one common feeling. We find, therefore, ac- clamations in theatres, senates, ecclesias- tical meetings, elections, at nuptials, tri- umphs, se- quent verse commences with that which the vei'se preceding terminates. ACROP'OLIS, the citadel of Athens. It was formerly the whole city, and at first called Acropia, from Acrops the founder ; but, after the inhabitants were greatly increased in number, the whole jjlain around it was filled with buildings, and the original city became the centre, under the denomination of Acropolis, or the upper city. ACROSTIC, a poem, the lines of which are so contrived, that the first letters of each, taken together, Avill make a proper name or other word. ACROSTO'LIUM, in the naval archi- tecture of the ancients, the extreme part of the ornament used on the prows of their ships. It was usual to tear the acrosloUa from the prows of vanquished ships, as a token of victory- ACROTERIA, in architecture, small pedestals, upon which globes, vases, or statues stand at the ends or middle of pediments. It also denotes the figures themselves placed in such situations. ACT, in a general sense, denotes the exertion, or effectual application, of some power or faculty. Act is distinguished from power, as the effect from the cause, or as a thing produced, from that which produces it. — Act, among logicians, more particularly denotes an operation of the liunian mind ; in which sense, compre- hending, judging, willing, kc. are called acts. — Act, in law, is used for an instru- ment or deed in writing, serviftg to prove the truth of some bargain or transaction. Thus, records, certificates, <&c. are called acts. — Act is also used for the final reso- lution, or decree of an assembly, senate, council, &c. — Acts of parliament are called statutes ; acts of the royal society, transactions ; those of the French academy of sciences, memoirs ; those of the academy of sciences at Petersburg, commentaries : those of Leipsic, acta erudiloruin ; the decrees of the lords of session, at Edin- burgh, acta sederunt, &c. — Act, in the universities, is the delivery of orations, or other exercises, in proof of the pro- ficiency of a student who is to take a degree. At Oxford, the time when mas- ters or doctors complete their degrees, is called the act. At Cambridge, the same period is called the commencement. — Act, in a dramatic sense, is the name given to certain portions of a play, in- tended to give respite both to the specta- tors and the actors. In the ancient drama, five acts were required both in tragedy and comedy ; and in what is tcrnieil the regular drama that rule is still observed, the acts being divided into smaller portions, called scenes. ACTA CONSISTO'RII, the edicts or declarations of the council of state of the emi>erors. ACTA DIUR'NA, was a sort of Roman gazette, containing an authorized narra- tive of the transactions worthy of notice, which happened at Rome. ACTA PUB'LICA, in Roman history, the journal of the senate. It seems to have resembled the votes of the English House of Commons, wherein a short ac- count was given to the public of what passed in the senate-house. • ACTIAN GAMES, or Ludi Acxiaca, were instituted in commemoration of the victory obtained by Augustus over An- tony at Actium. They returned every fifth year, according to the general opinion, and were sacred to Apollo, who was then called Actius Apollo. Actian years became an era, commencing from the battle of Actium. called also the era of Augustus. The Actian games con- sisted of shows of gladiators, wrestlers, and other exercises, and were kept gene- rally at Nicoptdis, a city built by Augus- tus, near Actium, for that purpose, with a view to perpetuate the fame of Iiis victory. 8 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIlEilVTUUE [adj ACTION, in ethics, something done by a free or morul agent, capable of dis- tinguishing good from evil. The essence of a moral action consists in its being done knowingly and voluntarilj' : that is, the agent must not only be able to dis- tinguish whether it be good or bad in itself; but he must likewise be entirely free from compulsion of any kind, and at full liberty to follow the dictates of his own understanding. — Action, in rhet- oric, may be defined, the accommoda- tion of the voice, but more especially the gesture of an orator, to the subject he is upon. — Action, in a theatrical sense, is nearly the same with action among orators ; only the actor adapts his action to an assumed character, whereas the orator is supposed to be in reality what his action expresses. — Action, in paint- ing and sculpture, denotes the posture of a statue or picture, serving to express some passion, &c. — Action, in the mili- tary art, is an engagement between two armies, or between different bodies of troops belonging thereto. ACTIVE, in a general sense, denotes something that communicates motion or action to another, in which sense it stands opposed to passive. — Active, among grammarians, an appellation given to words expressing some action, as I write, I read, &c. — Active Power, in meta- physics, the power of executing any work or labor ; in contradistinction to speculative powers, as those of seeing, hearing, reasoning, &c. ACTOR, in a dramatic sense, is a man who enacts some part or character in a play. It is remarkable with what differ- ence actors were treated among the an- cients. At Athens they were held in such esteem, as to be sometimes sent on embassies to foreign powers ; whereas, at Rome, if a citizen became an actor, he thereby forfeited his freedom. Actors in the present day have little to complain of, in regard to the treatment they re- ceive : according as they contribute to the gratification of the public so are they rewarded ; and if their moral conduct be irreproachable, no persons are more es- teemed or 1 luded. ACTRE.--!.^!, a female dramatic per- former. They were unknown to the an- cients, among wljoin men always took the parts of women. Nor were they intro- duced on the English stage till the days of the Stuarts. ACTUA'RIUS, or ACTA'RIUS, in Roman antiquity, an officer, or ratlior notary, appointed to write down the pro- cceJings of a court. — Actuarii were alsc officers who kept the military accounts, and distributed the corn to the soldiers. AC TUARY, the chief clerk, or person, who compiles minutes of the proceedings of a company in business. ACU'MEN, mental sharpness, or quick discernment; great intellectual capacity. In ancient music, acumen denotes a sound produced by raising the voice to a higa pitch. ACUTE', an appellation given to such things as terminate in a sharp point, or edge : thus, we say, an acute angle, acute- angled triangle, &c. — Acute, in music, an epithet given to sharp or shrill sounds, in opposition to those called grave. ACYROLO'GIA, in grammar, denotes an improper word, phrase, or expression : it differs a little from the cataehresis. AD, a Latin preposition, expressing the relation of one thing to another. It is frequently prefixed to other words : thus, AD HOMINEM, among logicians, an argu- ment drawn from the professed belief or principles of those with whom we argue. — Ad ludos, in Roman antiquity, a kind of punishment, whereby the criminals entertained the people, either by fighting with wild beasts, or with each other. — Ad VALOREM, in commerce, according to the value. — Ad infinitum, indefinitely, or to infinity. ADA'GIO, a degree quicker than grave time, in music, but with graceful and elegant execution. A'DEPT, a distinctive term applied to those alchemists who were supposed to have attained the great object of their re- searches, or to have discovered the phi- losopher's stone. ADIIE'RENCE, the effect of those parts of a picture which, vnanting relief, are not detached, and hence -ippear ad- hering to the canvas or snrfajo. AT)'JECTIVE,-in grammar, that part of speech which i* annexed to substan- tives, to define more accurately the con- ce)itions intended to bo denoteil by them. ADJOURN'MEXT, the putting off a court or other meeting till another day. In parliament, adjournment differs from prorogation, the former being not only for the shorter time, but also done by the house itself, whereas the latter is an act of royal authority. AD'JUNCT, some quality belonging either to body or min 1, either natural or acquired. Thus, thinking is an adjunct of tiie mind, and growth of t!ie body. It also denotes something added to another.. without being any necessary part of it ADU] AND THE FINE ARTS, Thu3 water absorbed by a spnngo is an adjunct, but no necessary p.irt of that substance. ADJUST'AIEXT, in a picture, is the manner in wliich draperies are chosen, arranged, and dispo.sed. AD'JUTANT, a niilitary otlicer, whose auty it is to carry orders from the major to the colonel and Serjeants. When de- tachments are to be made, he gives the number to he furnished by each company or troop, and assigns the hour and place of rendezvous. lie also places the guards, receives and distributes the ammunition to the companies, &c. AD'JUTANT-GEN'ERAL, an officer of distinction, who assists the general, by forming the several details of duty of the army with the brigade majors. ADLOCU'TION, or ADLOCU'TIO, in Roman antiquity, the address made by generals to their armies, in order to rouse their courage before a battle. AD'MIRAL, the commander of a fleet of ships of war ; having two subordinate commanders, as vice-admiral and rear- admiral ; and distinguished into three classes, by the color of their flags, as white, blue, and red. The admiral car- ries his flag at the main-top-mast head ; the vice-admiral, at the fore-top-mast head ; and the rear-admiral, at the mizen- top-mast head. AD'MIRALTY, the Board of Com- missioners for executing the ofiice of Lord High Admiral, and having authority over naval afi"airs generally. — Admiral- ty, Court of, in law, i," a court of rec- ord, of which the proceedings are carried on, at least to a certain extent, according to the course of the civil law ; although, as the judge may have in some cases the assistance of a jury, it has also a resem- blance to the courts of common law. It has jurisdiction principally for the deter- mination of private injuries to private rights arising at sea, o- intimately con- nected with maritime subjects ; and in most cases, to which its authority e.xtends, it hq.s concurrent jurisdiction, either with the common law courts, or those of equity. ADONA'I, one of the names of God used in the Scriptures, and properly sig- nifying niij lords, in the plural, as Adoni does my lord, in the singular number. ADO'NIA, solemn feasts in honor of Venus, instituted in memory of her be- loved Adonis, and observed with great solemnity by the Greeks, Phoenicians, Lycians, Syrians, Egyptians, itc. They lasted two days, during the first of which the women carried about images of Venus and Adonis, weeping, tearing their hair, beating their breasts, .and using ev- ery token of grief. On the second, they sung his praises, and made rejoicings, as if Ailiiiiis hail been raised todife again. ADD'NIC, a species of verse consisting of a dactylo and a spondee. It was in- vented by Sappho, and derived its name from being principally sung at the festi- vals in memory of Adonis. ADO'NIS, in mythology, a beautiful youth, son of Cinyras, king of Cyprus, beloved by Venus, and killed by a wild boar, to the great regret of the goddess. It is, also, the name of a river of Phoenicia, on the banks of which Adonis, or Tham- muz, as he is called in the East, was supposed to have been killed. At certain seasons of the year this river acquires a high red color, by the rains washing up particles of red earth. The ancient poets ascribed this to a sympathy in the river for the death of Adonis. This season was observed as a festival in the adjacent country. ADOllA'TION', a mode of reverence or worship anciently shown to the gods, by raising the right hand to the mouth, and gently applying it to the lips ; also, in general, any outward sign of worship, by kissing the hand or feet, walking barefoot, or the like. Among the Jews, adoration consisted in kissing the hands, bowing, kneeling, and even prostration. But the posture of adoration most com- mon in all ages and countries, is kneel- ing. ADO'REA, in Roman antiquity, grain, or a kind of cakes made of fine flour, and ofi'ered in sacrifice ; a dole or distribution of corn, as a reward for some service ; whence, by metonymy, it is put for praise or rewards in general. A'DRI AN, St., in Christian art is repre- sented armed, with an anvil at his feet or in his arms, and occasionally with a sword or an axe lying besiiie it. The anvil is the appropriate attribute of St. Adrian, who suffered martyrdom, having his limbs cut off on a smith's anvil, and being afterwards beheaded. St. Adrian was the chief military saint of northern Europe for many ages, second only to St George. He was regarded as the patron of soldiers, and the protector against the plague. He has not been a popular sub- ject with artists. St. Adrian is the patron saint of the Flemish brewers. ADULTERA'TION, in ageneral sense, denotes the act of debasing, by an im- proper mixture, something that was pure and genuine. Thus, adulteration of coin, 10 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITEK ATUIIK [aec is the casting or ranking it of a metal inferior in goodness to the standard, by using too great a portion of allo_y. ADUL'TERY, a violation of the nup- tial bed ; a crime which has been re- garded by all civilized nations with abhorrence, and in ancient times was punished as a capital offence. By the Jewish law, the penalty was death. AD'VENT, the coming of our Saviour ; also the festival commemorative of the Advent, which falls about a mouth before Christmas. AD'VERB, a word so called from its signification and connection with verbs ; though they are also frequently joined with adjectives and other parts of speech to modify their meaning. AD VERS A'RI A, a memorandum-book, journal, or common-place book. ADVER'TISEMENT, any printed pub- lication of circumstances, either of public or private interest, particularly that in- serted in the newspapers. AD'VOCATE, the original pleaders of causes at Rome were the Patricians, who defended gratuitously their clients; but even before the downfall of the re- public, the class had degenerated into a profession, its members receiving rewards for their services, although still among the most honorable of employments. In the later ages of the empire, the advocati appear to have formed a distinct class from the jurisconsulti, or chamber-coun- sel, and to have much declined in repu- tation. In France, the avocats, or counsel, form a separate order, of which each member is attached to a particular local court. The lord advocate, in Scot- land, is a public officer, who prosecutes- crimes before the court of justiciary. ADVOW'SON, properly, the relation in which a patron stands towards tlie living to which he presents, i. e. the pat- ronage of a church. The earliest pro- vision for divine worship, in England and in other countries, was derived from the offerings of the laity, which were dis- tributed by the bishop of each diocese a.rnong bis clergy, whom he sent from place to place to preach and administer the sacraments. By degrees he was en- abled, by the bequests of the faithful, and the customary offering of tithes, to subdivide his diocese, or paroehia, as it was originally called, into various dis- tricts, and to build churches and establish permanent ministers in each. At the same time it became a common pactico among the nobles to Iniild and endow churches for . the benefit of themselves and their own dependents ; in which case the3' were allc-.ved to present to the benefice, subject to the licensing power of the bishop and the canons of the church. AD'YTUM, the most retired and secret place of the heathen temples, into which none but the priests were allowed to enter. The adytum of the Greeks and RomauJi answered to the sanctum sanctorum .>f the Jews, and was the place from whence oracles were delivered. The term is purely Greek, signifying inaccessible. iEACE'A, in Grecian antiquity, solemn festivals and games in honor of yEacus, who, on account of his justice upon earth, was thought to have been one of the judges in hell. At the end of the so- lemnity, the victors in the games used to present a garland of flowers. .iE'DES, in Roman antiquity, besides its more ordinary signification of a house, or the internal part of a house, where the family used to eat, likewise signified an inferior kind of temple, consecrated indeed to some deity, but not by the augurs. jEDIC'ULA, a small sedes or temple, which was erected in every village or parish. xEDI'LES, a Roman magistrate, whose chief business was to superintend build- ings of all kinds, but more especially pub- lic ones, as temples, aqueducts, bridges, &c ; and to take care of the highway's, weights, and measures, &c. iE'GIS, a shield, particularly the shield of Jupiter. ^NE'ID, the title of Virgil's epic poem, in which he celebrates the adven- tures of /Eneas, one of the bravest among the Trojan heroes. The author intro- duces him as sailing from Troy, after its destruction, in search of the shores of Italy, on which it had been promised by the gods that he should found an empire destined to be immortal ; and the poem ends with the complete success of .i5<;uea3 over Turnus, king of the Rutuli, whose dominions he had invaded, and who falls by his hand. The unrivalled force, ele- gance, and beauty of Virgil's style have been the theme of admiration in every succeeding age, and given him an indis- putable right to a niclio in the tenijile of Apollo, second only to that of Homer. .T50'LIAN IIAliP, an arrangement of strings placed in a window and playeil upon bv the wind. It produces the effect of a distant choir of music in the air, sweetly mingling all the harmonic notes, and sweUinj: or diininishincr its sounds aoa] AXU THE FiXK ARTS. 11 according to the strength or weakness of the blast. yK'llA, or E'RA, a fixed historical period whence }*ears arc reckoned : as the building of Rome, or the birth of Christ. Era and Epoch arc not cvactly sj'nonymous. An era is a point fi.xed by a particular people or nation; an epoch, one determined by chronologist.s and his- torians. The idea of an era, also, com- prehends a certain succession of years, proceeding from a fixed event ; and an epoch is that event itself. AE'KIAL, in painting, a term applied to the diminishing intensity of color on objects receding from the eye. Aerial perspective is the relative apparent re- cession of objects from the foreground, owing to the quantity of air interposed between them and the spectator, and must accompany the recession of the perspective linos. AER'OMANCY, a kind of divination amongst the (ireeks, andfrom them adopt- ed by the Romans, whereby they pre- tended to foretell future events from cer- tain spectral phenomena or noises in the air. By aeromanoy, in the present day, is meant the art of foretelling the changes and variations of the air and weather, by means of meteorological observations. AERONAUT, one who sails in the air in a balloon. AERONAU'TICS, or AEROSTA'- TION, the art of navigating the air, by employing air-balloons, or silken globes, filled with gas lighter than atmospheric air. .^STIIET'ICS, a terra derived from '■he Greek, denoting ./eeZi/is', sentiment, imagination, originally adopted by the Germans, and now incorporated into the vocabulary of Art. By it is generally understood " the science of tbe beautiful" and its various modes of representation ; its purpose is to lead the criticism of the beautiful back to the principle of reason. In beauty lies the soul of Art. Schelling declares that the province of JEstheties is to develop systematically the mani- fold beautiful in every Art, a.s the one idea of the beautiful. .r.S'TIVA, summer encampments for the Roman soldiers, in distinction from the hibernitz, or winter quarters. iES'TIVAL, in a general sense, ilenotes something connected with, or belongitig to summer. Hence we say a'stival point, festival sign, restival solstice, &e. AFFECTA'TION, in the Fine Arts, an artificial show arising from the want of simplicity either in coloring, drawing, or action. Also, the overcharging any part of a composition with an artificial or deceitful appearance. AFFETUO'SO, fi/Te/Zo, Ital, in a tender and affecting stylo; a term employed in music-books, at the beginning of a move- ment. AFFI'ANCE, in law, denotes the mu- tual plighting of truth, between a man and a woman ; to bind one's self to tho performance of a marriage uontract. AFFIDA'VIT, an oath in writing, taken before some person who is legally authorized to administer the same. AFFIN'ITY, in civil law, the rela- tionship in which each of the parties married stands to the kindred of the other. AFFIR'MATIVE, an epithet used by logicians for a species of proposition wherein any predicate is affirmed of its subject ; as, " a dog is a quadruped ;" here ^'quadruped" is affirmed of a dog. AF'FIX, in grammar, a particle added at the close of a word, either to diversify its form, or alter its signification. AFFLA'TUS, in a general sense, a divine influence communicating to the receiver supernatural powers, particularly the gift of prophecy. Among heathen mythologists and poets, it denotes the actual inspiration of some divinity. Tully, however, extends the meaning of the word farther, by attributing all great actions to a divine afflatus. A FORTIO'RI, a term implying that what follows is a more powerful argu- ment than what has been before adduced. AFTER, modelled or drawn after the antique, after Raphael, or some other great master. It is to copy an antique statue, or some work of the great masters. AG'APiE, love-feasts kept by the an- cient Christians, as a token of brotherly charity and mutual benevolence. In course of time abuses crept in, and ren- dered the abolition of them necessary. AGAPE'T/E, a society of unmarried women among the primitive Christians, who attended on and served the clergv. At first there was nothing improper in these societies, though they were after- wards charged with gross immoralities, and were wholly abolished by the council of Lateran, in il39. AG'ATHA, St., when represented as a martyr, is depicted crowned, with a long veil, and bearing the instruments of her cruel martyrdom, a pair of shears, with which her breasts were cut off. Aa patron saint, she bears in one hand a palra branch, and holding with the other 12 CVCLOI'EUIA OF LUKUATUKE [At a plate or salver, upun which is a female breast. The subject of her luartyrJom has been treated by Sebastian del Piom- bo. Van Dyek, Parmigiano, and others. AGE, a certain period or limit of time, marked for tlie convenience of chronology and history by some remarkable events. Chronologers usually reckon seven such agos, namely, 1. From the creation to the deluge. 2. From the deluge to the birth of Abraham. 3. From the birth of Abraham to the departure of the I.-^raelites out of Egypt. 4. From the departure of the Israelites to the building of the tem- ple by Solomon. 5. From the laying the foundation of the temple to the reign of Cyrus in Babylon. 6. From the reign of Cyrus to the coming of Christ. 7. Since the birth of our Saviour. — Among an- cient historians, the duration of the world was also subdivided into three periods, or iiges : the first, reaching from the creation to the deluge which happened in Greece during the reign of Ogyges, is called the obscure or uncertain age ; the second, called the fabulous or heroic, terminates at the first olympiail ; where the third, or historical age, commences. The poets also distinguished the period of the world into four ages : the golden age, or the age of simplicity and happi- ness ; the silver age, which was less pure than the golden age, and in which men began to till the ground for their sus- tenance ; the brazen age, when strife and contentions began ; and the iron age, when justice and honor had left the earth. AGEX'DA, small books are now pub- lished under this title, in which individuals may set down, under their proper heads, the things to be daily attended to. A'(tENT, in a general sense, denotes anything which acts, or produces an ef- fect. Agents are either natural or moral. Natural agents are all such inanimate bodies as have a power to act upun ollun- bodies, in a certain and dcterniinate manner : such is fire, which has the in- variable property or power to warm or heat. Moral agents, on the contrary, are rational creatures, capable of regu- lating their actions by a certain rule. A'(>10, in commerce, a term chiefly used in Holland and at Venice, to signify the dilTcrence between the value of bank- stcjck and the current coin. Ati'NES, St., this saint is represented as a martyr, holding the palm-branch in her hand, with a lamb at her feet or in her arms, sometimes crowned with olives, nnd holding an olive-branch as well as the i>aliii-branch. AGXO'MEX, in Koman antiquity, was the fourth or honorary name bestowed on account of some extraordinary action, vir- tue, or accomplishment. Thus the agno- men Africanus was given to Publius Cor- nelius Scipio, on account of his exploits in Africa. AG'NUS DEI, (Lamb of God,) Iho oval medallions, which arc made either from the wax of the consecrated Easter candles or of the wafer dough. They are also sometimes made of silver, nnd have on one side the Lamb, with the ban- ner of Victory, or St. John, and on the other the picture of some saint. They were first made about the fourteenth century. A'GOX, in the public games of the an- cients, a term used indifferently for any contest or dispute, whether respecting bodily exercises, or accomplishments of the mind. Thus poets, musicians, Ac, had their agones, as well as the athletw. — Agon was also used for one of the ministers employed in the heathen sacri- fices, whose business it was to strike the victim. AGONA'LIA, festivals in Rome, cele- brated in honor of Janus, or Agonius, three times a year. AGONOTHE'T.E, officers appointed at the Grecian games to take care that all things were performed according to cus- tom, to decide controversies amongst the antagonists, and adjudge the prizes. AGRA'RIAN LAWS, statutes, which forbid the possession of more than a cer- tain extent of land by any single imli- vidual. That law of the Romans, called, by way of eminence, tke agrarian law, was published by Spurius Cassius, about the year of Rome, 265, enjoining a di- vision of the conquered lands, in equal parts, among the citizens, and limiting the number of acres that each might enjoy. AIK, in music, signifies the melody, or treble part of a musical composition. The word is also used for a tune, or song itself, that is, for a series of sounds whose movement is regular and graceful. — Air, in painting, the medium in na- ture through which every object is viewed, and hence to be transferred to the imita- tion on canvas. The effects which it produces are an indispensable part of the knowledge of every artist. It affects the sizes and color of objects according to their distance. AL, an Arabian particle, answering to the English the, and employed in the same manner to mark anythingr indefi- nitely. alkJ AND IIIE FINK AIMS. 13 AL'AB ASTER, a well-known sulphate of lime, forming a soft, f:;r:inuliir, imper- fectly transparent marble; used for or- naments in houses, and by statuaries. It is found in Germany, France, and Italy. A LA GKECQUE, (Fr.) an architec- tural orna- ^ ment resem- bling a vari- ^ ously twisted ribbon, when it is merely a narrow continuous stripe, forming right angles, either raised or cut in, and some- times only painted. This ornament, called also a labyrinth, may be used for recti- lineal mouldings. If it be only one stripe, it is called the simple labyrinth ; but if two stripes be twisted into one another it is called the double labyrinth. ALB, or ALBE, (alba,) in the Romish church, a vestment of white linen, hang- ing down to the feet, and answering to the surplice of the Episcopal clergy. In the ancient church, it was usual with those newly baptized, to wear an alb, or white vestment ; and hence the Sunday after Easter was caWcd dominica in albis, on account of the albs worn by those bap- tized on Easter-day. AL'BAN, St., in Christian art, is rep- resented (as also is St. Denis), carrying his head between his hands. His attri- butes are a sword and a crown. AL'BATROSS, or Man-of-War Bird, the Diomedes of Linnajus, a large and voracious bird, which inhabits many countries between the tropics. ALBIGEN'SES, a namg common to several sects, particularly the Cathari and Waldenses, who agreed in opposing the dominion of the Koiuish hierarchy, and endeavoring to restore the simplicity of primitive Christianity. They endured the severest persecutions, and after the middle of the 13th century, the name of Albigenses altogether disappeared ; but fugitives of their party formed, in the mountains of Piedmont and in Lombardy, what is called the French Church, which was continued through the Waldenses, to the era of the Reformation. ALBl'NOS, or Leuc^'thiops, a vari- ety of the human species, that frequently occurs in Africa. The Portuguese first gave the name of Albino to the white negro, and they formerly described them as a distinct race; but modern natural- ists have discovered them in variou.s countries of Europe, viz., in Switzerland, among the Savoyards in the valley of ; Cliamouni ; in Franco, in tht tract of the Rhine; in Tyrol, &c. AL'BUM, a white t;ible or register, whereon the Roiuau i)raHor.s had tlicir decrees written. There were many of them in use, and they received their ap- pellations from the various magistrate.'! whose names wore thereon entered; as the album jiidicum, the album decurio- iium, (tc. — The fashionable Albums of the present day are derived from the firactice adopted in many foreign coun- tries of having a white paper book, in which strangers of distinction or literary eminence were invited to insert their names, or any observation in proso or verse, as a memorial of their visit. ALCA'ICS, a term given to several kinds of verse, from their inventor, the poet Alcffius. ALCAIDE, or AL'CALDE, a Spanish or Portuguese magistrate, or officer of justice, answering nearly to the French prevost, and the British justice of peace. Both the name and office are of Moorish origin. AL'CORAN, or the Koran, the name of the volume containing the revelations, doctrines, and precepts of Mahomet, in which his followers place implicit confi- dence. The general aim of the Alcoran was to unite the professors of the three different religions then followed in Ara- bia, Idolaters, Jews, and Christians, in the knowledge and worship of one God, under the sanction of certain laws, and the outward signs of ceremonies, partly of ancient, and partly of novel institu- tion, enforced by the consideration of re- wards and punishments, both temporal and eternal, and to bring all to the obe- dience of Mahomet, as the prophet and ambassador of God, who was to establish the true religi(m on earth. AL'DIXE EDITIONS, tho.se editions of the Greek and Roman classics which were printed by the family of Aldus Manutius, first established at Venice about 1490. ALEXAN'DRIAN, or ALEXAN'- DRIXE, in poetry, a kind of verse, con sisting of twelve, or of twelve and tliirteen syllables alternately, the pause being al- ways on the si.\th syllable. It is so called from a poem on the life of .Vle.xander, written in this way, by some French poet. ALEXAN'DRIAN LIBRARY, this celebrated library was founded by Ptole- my Soter, for the use of an academy that ho instituted in Alexandria; and, by continual additions by his successors, became at last the finest library in tho 14 CYCLOI'EDIA OF LITERATURE [all world, containing no fewer ttian 700.000 volumi;S. The method followed in col- lecting books for this library, was, to seize all those which were brought into Egypt by Greeks or other foreigners. The books were transcribed in the mu- seum by persons appointed for that pur- pose, the copies were then delivered to the proprietors, and the originals laid up in the library. It was evcntuallj^ burnt by order of the caliph Omar, a d. 624. ALEXANDRIAN MANUSCRIPT, or Codex Alexandrinus, a famous copy of the Scriptures, consisting of four vol- umes, in a large quarto size ; which con- tains the whole Bible, in Greek, including the Old and New Testaments, with the Apocrypha, and some smaller pieces, but not quite ciimplete. This manuscript is now preserved in the British Museum. It was sent as a present to king Charles I., from Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Constantinople, by Sir Thomas Rowe, ambassador from England to the grand seignior, about the year 1628. ALEXAN'DRIA'N school, an acad- emy for literature and learning of all kinds, instituted at Alexandria by Ptole- my, son of Lagus, and supported by his successors. The grammarians and math- ematicians of this school were particularly celebrated. In the former class occur the noted names of Aristarchus, Harpocra- tion, and Aristophanes ; and among the latter were numbered the astronomer Ptolemy, and geometer Euclid. The grammarians of Alexandria exercised a universal literary jurisdiction, publishing canons of those who were to be considered standard authors, and revised editions of ancient writers. ALEX'IS, St., the patron saint of beg- gars and pilgrims. In Christian art, he is usually represented in a pilgrim's habit and staff; sometimes as extended on a mat, with a letter in his hand, dying. St. Roch is also represented as a piljjrim, but he is distinguished from St. Ale.xis by the plague spot on his bodj', and in being accompanied bj' a dog. AL'GUAZIL, the title of one of the lower orders of Spanish officers of justice, whose business is to execute the orders of the magistrate. A'LIAS, in law, a Latin word signify- ing otherwise ; often used in describing the accused, who has assumed other names beside his real one. AL'IBI, in law, a Latin word signify- ing, literally, elsewhere. It is used by the accused, when he wishes to prove his innocenco, bv sliowing that ho was in another place when the act was com- mitted. AL'IMONY, in law, the maintenance sued for by a wife, in case of a legal separation from her husband, wherein she is neither chargeable with elopement nor adultery. AL'LAH, the Arabian name of God. ALLA-PKIMA, {Ital) Au premies COUP, (Z'V.) a method of painting in which the pigments are appliel all at once to the canvas, without impasting or retouching. Some of tlie best pictures of the great masters are painted In at once by this method, but it requires too much knowledge, skill, and decision to be generally practised. ALLEGOR'ICAL PICTURES are of two kinds : the one comprehends those in which the artist unites allegorical with real persons, and this is the lower rank of allegorical painting. Such are those of Rubens, in the Gallery of the Luxem- bourg, representing the stormy life of Mary dj Medicis. The other, those in which the artist represents allegorical persons only ; and by the position of single figures, the grouping of many and the composition of the whole, conveys to the mind of the spectator one thought or manj' thoughts, which he cannot con- vey by the common language of his art this is allegorical painting in the true sense of the term. AL'LEGORY, a series or chain ot metaphors continued through a whole discourse. The great source of allegory or allegorical interpretations, is some difficulty, or absurdity, in the literal and obvious sense. ALLE'GRO, an Italian word used in music, to denote that the part is to be played in a brii»k and sprightly manner. The usual distinctions succeed each other in the following order : grave, adagio, largo, vivace, allegro, -presto. Allegro time may be heightenc 1, as allegro assai and allegrissimo, very livel}' ; or lessened, as allegretto or poco allegro, a little lively. Pill allegro is a direction to jilay or sing a little quicker. ALLEMAN'NIC, in a general sense, denotes anything belonging to the an- cient Germans. Thus we meet with Alle- mannic history, Allcniainiic language, Allemannic law, ,tc. ALL-IIAL'LOWS, or ALL-SAINTS, a festival observed by many denomina- tions of Christians, in commemoration of the saints in general. It is kept on the first of November, Gregory IV. having in 835 appointed that day for its colebration alt] AND IHE FINE ARTS. 16 ALLITERA'TIOX, ii figure or cmbcl- lishinent of sjieoch, whicli consists in the repetition of the same consonants, or of sj'lh'.bles of the same sound, in one sen- tence. The Greek unci Roman literature afford many instances of tiiis; and in English poetry there are also many beau- tiful .specimens of alliterations ; though it must be confessed that it is too often used without the requisite skill, and carried too far. In burlesque poetry it is frequently used with excellent effect; though even there the sense should never be sacrificed to the sound. Tastefully used, it is a most enchanting ornament, and will equally contribute to softness, to energy, and to solemnity. ALLU'SION, in rhetoric, strictly, a covert indication, as by means of a meta- phor, a play of words, &e., of something not openly mentioned and e.xtrinsic to the principal meaning of the sentence. AL'MAGE.ST, the name of a celebrated book, composed by Ptolemy; being a collection of many of the observations and problems of the ancients, relating both to geometry and astronomJ^ AL'MA MA TER, a title given to the universities of O.Kford and Cambridge by their several members who have passed their degrees in either of these universi- ties. AL'MAXAC, a calendar or table, con- taining a list of the months, weeks, and days of the year, with an account of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, the most remarkable phenomena of the heavenly bodies, the several festivals, and fasts, and other incidental matters. — The Nautical .Almanac, a most valua^ ble work for mariners, is published in England two or three years in advance. It was commenced in 1767, by Dr. ]Mas- kelyne, the astronomer royal, and has been regularly continued ever since. AL'PHABET, the natural or cus- tomary series of the several letters of a language. The word is formed from alpha and beta, the first ami second letters of the Greek alphabet. It is undoubtedly the most important of all inventions, for by means of it sounds are represented, and language made visible to the eye by a few simi)le characters. The five books of Moses are universally acknowledged to be the most ancient compositions, as well as the most early specimens of alphabetical writing extant; and it ap- pears that all the languages in* use amongst men which have been conveyed in alphabetical characters, have been the languages of people connected, ulti- mately or immey visible symbols, called letters, be re.illy a human invention ; or whether we ought to attri))- ute an art so exceedingly useful, to an immediate intimation of the Deity. ALPHON'SINE TABLE.S, astronom- ical tables made in the reign of Alphon- sus X., king of Arragon, who was a great lover of science, and a prince of rare attainments; but though these tables bear his name, they were chiefly drawn up by Isaac Ilazan, a learned Jewish rabbi. ALSEG'XO, in music, a notice to the performer that he must recommence from that part of the movement to which 'ClJ the sign or mark is prefixed. ^• ALT, in music, that part of the great scale l.ying between F above the treble cliff note, and G in altissimo. AL'TAR, a place upon which sacrifices were anciently offered to the Almighty, or some heathen deity. Before temples were in use, altars were erected some- times in groves, sometimes in the high- ways, and sometimes on the tops of mountains ; and it was a custom to en- grave upon them the name, proper ensign, or character of the deity to whom they were consecrated. Thus St. Paul observed an altar at Athens, with an inscription. To the unknown God. In the great temples of ancient Rome, there were ordinarily three altars : the first was placed in the sanctuary, at the foot of the statue of the divinity, upon which incense was burnt, and libations offered ; the second was before the gate of the temple, and upon it they sacrificed the victims; and the third was a port.Tble altar, upon which were placed the offer- ings and the sacred vessels. The princi- pal altars of the Jews were those of in cense, of burnt-ojferlags, and the altar or table, for the shoic-bread^ — Alt.\r is also used among Christians, for the com- munion-table. ALTIS'SIMO, in music, an Italian epi- thet for notes above F in alt. ALTIS'TA, in music, an Italian name for the vocal performer who takes the alto prima part. AL'TO, or AL'TO TEXO'RE, in music, is the term applied to that part of tho great vocal scale which lies between tho mez:o soprano and the tenor, and which is assigned to the highest natural adult male voice. In scores, it always signi- fies the counter-tenor part. 16 CVCLOPEDIA OF LITEKAIURE [amp ALTO RELTE'VO, in sculptu-ro, a representation of figures and other ob- jects against a flat surface ; differing from basso relievo only in the work being much nwre brought forward. AMATEUR', a person having a taste for a particular art, yet not professing, nor being dependent on it. AM'BER, a hard, brittle, tasteless sub- stance, mostly semi-transparent, or opa- que, and of a glossy surface. This curious production of nature is inflammable, and, when heated, yields a strong and bitumi- nous odor. Its most extraordinary prop- erties are those of attracting after it has been exposed to a slight friction, straws, and other surrounding objects ; and of producing sparks of fire, visible in the dark. Many thousand years before the science of electricity had entered the mind of man, these surprising qualities were known to exist in amber, and hence the Greeks called it electrum. AM'BIDEXTER, a person who can use both hands with equal facility, and for the same purposes that the generality of people do their right hands. — In law, a juror who takes money for giving his verdict. AM'BITUS, in music, signifies the particular extent of each tone, or modi- fication of grave and sharp. AM'BO, in architecture, the elevated place, or pulpit, in the early Christian churches, from whence it was usual to address the congregation, and on which certain parts of the service were chanted. AM'BROSE, St., the patron saint of Milan : but few works of art exist, in which he is so represented. The finest is the painting that adorns his chapel in the Frari at Venice, painted by Viva- rini, towards the end of the fifteenth cen- tury, a work of the highest excellence. St. Ambrose is usually represented in the costume of a bishop. AMBRO'SIA, in heathen antiquity, denotes the food of the gods. Hence, whatever is very gratifying to the taste or smell has been termed ambrosial. AMimo'SIAN CHANT, in music, so called from St. Ambrose, archbishop of Milan, who composed it for the church there in the fourth century : it is distin- guished from the Gregorian chant by a great monotony and want of beauty in its melody. AMEN', in Scripture language, a sol- emn formula, or conclu.sion to all prayer, signifying verily, or so be it. AMENDE HONORABLE, (French.) an infamous kind of cunishmeut formerly inflicted in France on traitors, pariici Ics, or sacrilegious persons, who were to go naked to the shirt, with a torch in their hand, and a rope about their neck, into a church or a court, to beg pardon of God, the court, and the injured part}'. — The modein acceptation of the term indicates that an open apology is made for au of- fence or injury. AMER'iCANIS^I, any word or phrase in general use among the inhabitants of the United States, which deviates from the English standard. Of these, a great proportion are mere vulgarisms and technical words of local character, origi- nally taken from different counties in England, by the first emigrants ; others are words formerly used by the English writers, but which have become obsolete ; while many are of modern coinage, and owe their origin to the caprice of inventors. Every living language is subject to con- tinual changes ; and it is not to be expected that a large community, in a state of social and political activity, who are daily developing new and characteristic fea- tures, will fail to exercise their share of influence upon that which they naturally consider as a part of their inheritance. AM'ETHYST, a rock crystal of a pur- ple color. Many ancient vases and cupa are composed of this mineral, and the finer varieties are still much in request for cutting into seals and brooches. AM'MON, the title under which Jupi- ter was worshipped in Libya, where a temple was erected to him, from which oracles were delivered for many ages. AMMUNI'TION, all warlike stores, and especially powder, ball, bombs, guns, and otlier weapons necessary for au army. AM'NESTY, an act by which two par- ties at variance promise to pardon and bury in oblivion all that is past. It is more especially used for a pardon granted by a prince to his rebellious subjects. AMPHIBO'LIA, or AMPHIBOL'OGY, in rhetoric, ambiguity of expression, when a sentence conveys a double mean- ing. It is distinguished from an equivoca- tion, which lies in a single word. AMPHIC'TYONS, in Grecian anti- quity, an assembly composed of deputies from the different states of Greece. The amphictyons at first met regularly at Delphi, twice a year, viz. in spring and autumn ; but in latter times they assem- bled at the village of Anthela, near Thermopyla ; and decided all differences between any of the Grecian states, their determinations being held sacred and inviolable. .NA] AM) TllK FINK A It IS. 17 AMPIIITIIE'ATRE, in antiquity, a spacious edifice, built citiier nmnl or oval, with a uuiiiber of rising seats, upon which the [loople used to sit and behold the combats of gladiators, of wild beasts, and other sports. Some of them, as the Coliseum at Rome, were capable of con- taining from 50,000 to 80,000 spectators. The principal parts of the amphitheatre were the arena, or place where the gladiators fought ; cavea, or hollow place where the beasts were kept ; podium, or projection at the top of the wall which surrounded the arena, and was assigned to the senators ; gracilis, or benches, ris- ing all round above the podium; aclltus, or entrances ; and vomiturixe, or gates which terminated the aditus. AMPHORA, in antiquity, a liquid measure in use among the Greeks and Romans. The Roman amphora contained forty-eight sectaries, and was equal to about seven gallons one pint, English wine-measure ; and the Grecian, or Attic amphora, contained one third more. — Am- phora was also a dry measure in use among the Romans, and contained three bushels. AMPHORI'TES, in antiquity, a sort of literary contest in the island of ^gina, where the poet who made the best dithy- rambic verses in honor of Bacchus was rewarded with an ox. AMPLIFICA'TION, in rhetoric, part of a discourse or speech, wherein a crime is aggravated, a praise or commendation heightened, or a narration enlarged, by an enumeration of circumstances, so as to excite the proper emotions in the minds of the auditors. AMPUL'LA, an ancient drinking ves- sel ; and among ecclesiastical writers it denotes one of the sacred vessels used at the altar. The ampulla is still a dis- tinguished vessel in the coronation of the kings of England and France. The vessel now in use in England is of the purest chased gold, and represents an eagle with expanding wings standing on a pe- destal, near seven inches in height, and weighing about ten ounces. It was de- posited in the Tower by the gallant Ed- ward, surnamed the Black Prince. AM'ULET, a s\ipcrstitious charm or preservative against mischief, witchcraft, or disep>scs. They were made of stone, metal, animals, and, in fact, of every- thing which fancy or caprice suggested. Sometime.^ they consisted of wor^s, charac- ters, and sentences, ranged in a particular crier, and engraved ujwn wood, &c., and y> ;rn about the neck, or some other part of the body. At other times the.y were neither written nor engraved; but pre- pared ■ with • many superstitious cere- monies, great regard being usually paid to the influence of the stars. A'NA, a ufMue given to amusing mis- cellanies, consisting of anecdotes, traits of character, and incidents relating to any person or subject. AN AB' AS IS, the title of Xenophon's description of the j-ounger Cyrus's expedi- tion against his brother, in which tho writer bore a principal part. ANA'CIIRONISM, in literature, an error with respect to chronology, whereby an event is placed earlier than it really happened ; in which sense it stands oppo- site to parachronism. AXACOLU'TIION, in grammar or rhetoric, a want of coherency, generally arising from inattention on the part of the writer or orator. ANACREON'TIC Verse, in ancien; poetry, a kind of verse, so called from its being much used by the poet Anacreon. It consisted of three feet, generally spon- dees and iambics, sometimes anapaists, and was peculiarly distinguished for soft- ness and tenderness. AXADIPLO'SIS, a figure in rhetoric and poetry, in which the last word or words of a sentence are repeated at the beginning of the next. ANAGLY'PIIIC. in antique sculpture, chased or embossed work on metal, or anything worked in relief. When raised on stone, the production is a cameo. When sunk or indented, it is a dia- glj'phic or an intaglio. AN'AGRAM, the change of one word or phrase into another, b}' the transposi- tion of its letters. They were very common among the ancients, and occa- sionally contained some happy allusion ; but, perhaps, none were more appropriate than the anagram made by Dr. Burney on tho name of the hero of the Nile, just after that important victory took place . HcHATio Nelson, " Honor est a Nilo." They are frequently employed satirically, or jestingly, with little aim beyond that of exercising the ingenuity of their au- thors. ANALEC'TA, a collection of extracts from different works. ANAL'OtiY, a certain relation and agreement between two or more things, which in other respects are entirely different. Or it may be defined an im- portant process of reasoning, by which we infer similar effects and plienomena from similar causes and events. A zreat 18 cyclopehia of i.itekature part of tJiir philosophy has nn othsr foun- dation th;in analogy. ANAL'VSIS, among grammarians, is the expl lining the etymology, construc- tion, an 1 other properties of words — Analysis is also used for a brief, but me- thodical illustration of the principles of a science ; in which sense it is nearly synon- ymous with what is termed a synopsis. ANAMXE'SIS, in rhetoric, an enume- ration of the things treated of before ; which is a sort of recapitulation. ANAMORPHOSIS, in perspective and painting, the representation of somj image, either on a plane or curved sur- face, deformed, or distorted ; which in a ■ certain point of view appears regular and in just proportion. AN'AP^ST, a foot in Greek and Latin metre, consisting of two short syllables followed by a long, being the name of the dactyle. AXAPH'ORA, a rhetorical figure, which consists in the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of several successive sentences. AN'ARCHY, a society without a gov- ernment, or where there is no supreme governor. AN ASTA'SIA, St., is represented with the attributes, a stake and fagots ; and with the palm as a symbol of her martyr- dom. ANASTATIC, a word derived from the Greek signifying " reviving." A recently invented process, by which any number of copies of a printed page of any size, a wood-cut, or a line-engraving, can be ob- tained. The process is based upon the law of " the repulsion of dissimilar, and the mutual attraction of similar parti- cles," and is e.xhibited by oil, water, and gum arable. The printed matter to be copied is first submitted to the action of diluted nitric acid, and, while retaining a portion of the moisture, is pressed upon a sheet of polished zinc, which is imme- diately attacked by the acid in every part except that covered by the printing- ink, a thin film of which is left on the zinc ; it is then washed with a weak solu- tion of gum arabic ; an inked-roUer being now passed over the zinc-plate, the ink adheres only to that portion which was inked in the original ; the impressions are then taken from the zinc-plate, in the same manner as in lithographic printing. ANAS'TROPIIE, in rhetoric, the in- v^ersion of words in a sentence, or the placing them out of their natural order. ANATII'EMA, among ecclesiastical writers, imports whatever is set apart. separated, or divided ; but the word is most usuiUy intended to express the cutting ofiF a person from the privileges of socie- ty, an 1 from communion with the faithful. AN'CHOR, in Christian art, is the symbol of hope, firmness, tranquillitj', patience and faith. Among those saints, of whom the anchor is an attribute, are Clement of Rome and Nicolas of Bari. AN'CIIORITE, more properly, ana- choret. a hermit, or person who has re- tired from the world with the purpose of devoting himself entirely to meditation and prayer. Such was the case with many of the early Christians, beginning perhaps with such as fled from the per- secutions of Decius and Diocletian, and retired into forests and deserts, at first with a view to security merely, and afterwards continued, from religious mo- tives, the mode of life they had there adopted. AN'CIEXTS, in the more general sense of the term, means those who lived long ago, or before the Moderns. But the term is now usually employed to designate the Greeks and Romans ; and if any other people be meant, it is cus- tomary to specify them, as the ancient Germans, the ancient Jews, &c. ANCY'LE, or ANCI'LE, in antiquitj', a small brazen shield which fell, as was pretended, from heaven in the reign of Numa Pompilius, when a voice was heard, declaring that Rome should be mistress of the world as long as she should preserve this holy buckler. ANDAN'TE, in music, the Italian term for exact and just time in playing, so as to keep the notes distinct from each other. — Andante largo, signifies that the music must be slow, the time exactly observed, and each note distinct. ANDANTI'NO, in music, an Italian word for gentle, tender ; somewhat slower than andante. ANDREW, St., the patron saint of Scotland ; also of the renowned order of the Golden Fleece of Burgundy, and of the order of the Cross of St. Andrew of Russia. The principal events in the life of this apostle chosen for representation by the Christian artists arc, his Flagella- tion, the Adoration of the Cross, and his Martyrdom. He is usually depicted as an old man, with long white hair and beard, holding the Gospel in his right haml, and leaning upon a transverse cross, formed sometimes of planks ; at others, of the rough branches of trees. This form of cross is peculiar to this saint, ana hence it is termed St. Andrew's Cross. A NT J AXU THE KIXE ARTS. 19 AX'GEL, the name given to those spiritual, intelligent beings, who are sup- pose! to execute the \yill of God, in the government of the world. It is some- timus used in a figurative, and at others in a literal sense. — Angel, the name of an ancient gold coin in England, so called from the figure of an angel upon it. It weighed four pennyweights. AX'GLICI.'^M. an idiom of speech, or manner petruliar to the English. AXGLO-SAX'ON, the name of the people called Angles, who with the Sa.x;- ons and some other German tribes, flour- ished in England after it was abandoned by the Roman.^, about the year 400 ; and who introduced their language, govern- ment, and customs. — Anglo-Saxon Lan- guage. After the conquest of England by the Angles and Sa.\ons, the Sa.ton be- came the prevalent tongue of that coun- try ; and after the Norman conquest, the English language exhibits the peculiar case, where languages of two different stocks are blended into one idiom, which, by the cultivation of a free and active na- tion and highly-gifted minds, has grown to a powerful, organized whole. AN'IMA, among divines and natural- ists, denotes the soul, or principle of life in animals. — Anima Mundi, a phrase formerly used to denote a certain pure ethereal substance or spirit which is dif- fused through the mass of the world, or- ganizing and actuating the whole and the different parts. AN'IMAL, a living body endued with sensation and spontaneous motion. In its limited sense, any irrational creature, as distinguished from man. AN'IMUS. in metaphysics, the mind or reasoning faculty, in distinction from anima, the being or faculty in which the faculty exists. AN'NALS, a species of history, in which events are related in the exact order of chronology. They differ from perfect history in this, that annals are a bare relation of what passes every year, as a journal is of what passes every day ; whereas history relates not only the tiansactions themselves, but also the causes, motives, and springs of actions. AX'NO DOM'IXI, abbreviated a.d., the 3-ear of our Lord ; the computation of time from our Saviour's incarnation. It is usoil as the date for all public deeds and writings in England and this coun- try, on which account it is called the " Vulgar Era." AXXOTA'TIOX'', ii brief commentary, or remark upni a book nr writing, in order to clear up some passage or draw some conclusion from it. AN'NUAL, an epithet for whatever happens every year, or lasts a year : thus we say, the annual motion of the earth, annual plants, annual publications, used by Vitruvius to denote tlio e.xternal distribution of a temple. Thu? lie describes seven sorts of aspects of temples. ASPIIAL'TUM, a bituminous or in- flammable substance, found in abundance in different countries, especially near the Dead Sea, and in Albania ; but nowhere in such quantities as in the island of Trinidad, where there is a large plain of it, called tho Tar Lake, which is three miles in circumference and of an un- known depth. It is also found in France, Switzerland, and some other parts of Europe. AS'PIRATE, in grammar, a character in the Greek (marked thus, ') to denote that the vowel must be sounded with a breathing. In English, the letter h is called aspirate, when it is sounded, in dis- tinction to h mute. AS'SAI, a musical term, which indi- cates tlnit the time must be accelerated or retardel; as allegro, quick; allegro as9ai, still quicker; adagio assai, still slower. ASSAS'SIN, one who kills another, not in open combat, but privately, or suddenly. The name is generally re- striiino 1 to murilerers of princes or other political characters ; or, to speak perhaps more ex]ilicitly, to whore the murder \3 committed from some sentiment of ha- tred, but in a private and dastardly man- ner. ASSIGN AT', tho name of (lie national pa,])er currency in France during tlio Revolution. Four humlred millions of this paper money were first struck off by the constituent assembly, with the ap- probation of the king, April 19, 1790, to bo redeemed with the proceeds of tho sale of the confiscated goods of the church. They at length increased, by degrees, to forty thousand millions, and after awhile they became of no value whatever. ath] AND THE FINE ARTS. 29 ASSIGNEE', in law, a person ap- pointed by another to do an act, transact some business, or enjoy a particular l)rivilogo. — The person to whom is com- mitted the management of a bankrupt's estate. ASSIGN'MENT, in law, the act of as- signing or transferring the interest or property a man has in a thing; or of appointing and setting over a right to another. A.SSl'ZES, a meeting of the English royal judges, the shcritf, and juries, for the purpose of making jail-deliveries, and trying causes between individuals ; generally held twice in the year. The assizes are gciieral when the justices go their circuits, with commission to take all assizes, that is, to hear all causes ; and they are special when special commis- sions arc granted to hear particular causes. ASSqCIA'TION OF IDEAS, by this phrase is understood the connection be- twerti certain ideas which causes them to euoceed each other involuntarily in the mind. To the wrong association of ideas made in our minds by custom, Mr. Locke attributes most of the sympathies and antipathies observable in men, which work as strongly, and produce as regular effects, as if they were natural, though they at first had no other origin than the accidental connection of two ideas, which either bj' the strength of the first im- pression, or future indulgence, are so united, that they ever after keep com- pany together in that man's mind as if they were but one idea. AS'SONANCE, in rhetoric or poetry, is where the words of a phrase or verse have nearly the same sound, or termina- tion, but make no proper rhyme. ASSUMP'SIT, in law, a voluntary promise by which a man binds himself to pay anything to another, or to do any work. ASS'UMP'TION, a festival in the Romish church, in honor of the miracu- lous ascent of the Virgin Mary into heaven. — Assumption, in logic, is the minor or second proposition in a categor- ical syllogism. It is also usoil for a con- sequence drawn from the propositions whereof an argument is composed. AS'TERLSK, in diplomatics, a sign in the figure of a star, frequently met with in ancient L.atin manu.^cripts, and seeming to serve vari!)us purposes; some- times to denote an omission, sometimes an addition, somotinios a passage which ap- peared remarkable on any account to the copyist. AS'TRAtI AL, in architecture, a little round moulding, in form of a ring, serv- ing as an ornament at the tops and bot- toms of columns. A8Y'J.iUM, in antiqjuity, a place of refuge for offenders, wlieie they were screened from the hands of justice. The asyla of altars and temples were very ancient. The .Tews had their asyla; the most remarkable of which were, the tem- ple, the altar of burnt-offerings, and the six cities of refuge. A similar custom prevailed both among the Greeks anJ Romans, where temples, altars, and statues, were places of refuge for crim inals of every description. They had an idea, that a criminal who fled to the tem pie or altar, submitted his crime to the punishment of the gods, and that it would be impiety in man to take vengeance out of their hands. In former times the like immunities were granted by the pope to churches, convents, el!ishod, as to justify the saying of Augustus — that he found Rome of brick, and loft it of marble. AUOUS'TINES, a religions order, so calleil from St. Augustine, their founder, and vulgarly called Austin friars, or 32 CYCLOPEDIA OF LrrERATURE [act Christian hermits. Before the Reforma- tion they had •32 houses in En;^land. Among other thing.", this rule enjoins to have all things in common, to receive nothing without the leave of the .superior ; and several other precepts relating to charity, modesty, and chastity. There are likewise nuns of this order. The Augustines are clothed in black, and at Paris are known under the name of the religious of St. Genevieve, that- abbey being the chief of the order. AnU'STlX'IANS, a religious sect of the 16th century, who maintained that the gates of heaven would not be opened till the general resurrection. AU'LIC, an epithet given to certain officers in the ci-dcvant (Jerman empire, who composed a court which decided, without appeal, in all judicial processes entered in it. This court, which was proverbial for the slow administration of justice, had not only concurrent juris- diction with the court of the imperial chamber, but, in many eases, exclusive jurisdiction. The right of appeal, pos- sessed by the estates, existed also in regard to the judicial decisions of the aulic court. AURE'OLA, in its original significa- tion, denotes a jewel, which is proposed as a reward of victory in some public dispute. Hence, the Roman' schoolmen applied it to the reward bestowed on martyrs, virgins, &c., on account of their works of supererogation ; and painters use it to signify tlie crown of glory with which they adorn the heads of saints, confessors. &c. AU'RUM MOSA'ICUM, a combination of tin and sulphur, used by statuaries and painters, for giving a gold color to their figures. AUS'PICE.S, a kind of soothsaying among the Romans, by the flight or sing- ing of birds. AUTHENTIC MEL'ODIES, in music, such as have their principal notes con- tained between the key-note and its oc- t\ivc. This term i.s applied by the Ital- ians to four of the church modes or toners in music which rise a fourth above their ( the civil year ; it has ince been called Marshevan, and answers to our October. BULL, PAPAL, an instrument, ordi- nance, or decree of the Pope, equivalent to the proclamations^ edicts, letters pat- ent, or ukases of secular princes. Bulls are written on parchment, to which a leaden seal is affixed, and are granted for the consecration of bishops, the pro- motion to benefices, and the celebration of jubilees, &c. The publication of papal bulls is termed fulmination ; and it is done by one of three commissioners, to whom they are usually addressed. BUL'LA, in antiquity, a small round ornament of gold or silver, worn about the neck or breast of the children of the Eobility till the age of fourteen. BUL'LETIN, an official account of public transactions or matters of general interest. BULL'-FIGUT, an entertainment for- merly frequent in Spain and Portugal, at which wild bulls are encountered by men on horseback, armed with lances. BULL'ION, uncoined gold or silver in the mass. Those metals arc callcil so, either when smelted from the native ore, and not perfectly refined ; or when they are perfectly refined, but melted down in bars or ingots, or in any unwrought bodj', of any degree (4' fineness. BUIl'DEN, in music, the drone or bass in some musi'cal instruments, and the pipe or string that plaj's it. The bass pipe in the bagpipe is so called. Hence, that part of a soijg that is repeated at the end of every stanza is ca'Ued the bur- den of it. BUREAU', in its primary sense, is a cloth co^•Jring a table ; next a writing- table ; and afterwards used to signify tho chamber of an offi.ier of government, and the body of subordinate officers who libor under the direction of a chief. BUREAU'CRATIE, or BUREAU- CRACY, is the system by which the business of administration is carried on in departments, each under the control of a chief, in contra-distinction to those systems in which the officers of govern- ment have a co-ordinate authority. BUR'GESS, an inhabitant of a borcugu, or one who possesses a tenement therein In other countries, burgess and citizen are used synonymously ; but in England they arc distinguished, burgess being ordinarily used for the representative of a borough-town in parliament. BURG'LARY, in law, the breaking and entering the dwelling of another in the night, with the intent tv» commit some felony, whether the felonious intent be put in execution or not. The like offence committed by day, is called house- breaking. BUR'GOMASTER, the chief magistrate- of the great towns in Fhvnders, Holland, and Germany. Tho authority of a burgo- master resembles that of the Lord Mayor in London. BU'llIN, an instrument used for en- graving on copper or steel plates. BURLES'QUE, the Italian poesia bur- lesca, signifies merely comic or sportive poetry ; but the term, in French and English, is more commonly restricted to compositions of which the humor consists in a ludicrous mixture of things high and low : as high thoughts clothed in low expressions; or, vice versa, ordinary or base topics invested in the artificial dignity of poetic diction. The humor of parody or travestie arises from the bur- lesque. — Burletta, a slight comic musical drama, is derived from the same origin. BURLET'TA, a light, comic fe',)ceies of musical drama, which derives its name from the Italian bttrlare, to jest. BUR'SARS, originally clerks or treas- urers in convents : in more modern times, persons enableil to prosecute their .atudiea at a university by means of funiJts derived from endowments. It is a singular cir- cumstance that tho latter acceptation of this term originated among the Polos, >^ c] AND THE FIXE ARTS. 49 who, even in the 14th century, were ac- customed to supply young men of talent with the means of travelling to (Jermany, and there studying philosophy under the guidance of the monks. This practice was soon adopted by other nations; and there is now, perhaps, no civilized coun- try in wliich it does not exist, under the name of bursaries, fellowships, exhibi- tions, scholarships, etc. These endow- ments are of two kinds : either furnishing the student with the means of prosecuting Lis studies during the academical curri- culum ; or enabling him to devote him- self, without distraction, to literary pur- suits even after the expiration of this period. BUR'SCHE, a youth, especially a stu- dent at a univcrsitv. BUR'SCIIEN COMMENT, the code of laws adopted by the students for the regulation of their demeanor amongst themselves, &c. BUR'SC'HENSCHAFT, a league or secret association of students, formed in 1815, for the purpose, as was asserted, of the political regeneration of Germany, and suppressed, at least in name, by the exertions of the governments. BURSE, BUR'SA, or BASIL'ICA, an exchange, or place of meeting for mer- chants to consult on matters of trade, and to negotiate bills of exchange. BU."^rRIS, in Egyptian mythology, a fabulous personage, of whose origin, ex- ploits, and character, Apollodorus, Herod- otus, Diodorus Siculus, and other ancient writers, have given a most discrepant account. His history is blended with that of Osiris. BUS'KIN, a kind of boot, or covering for the leg, of great antiqiMty. It was part of the costume of actors in tragedy ; it is worn by Diana in representations of that goddess, as part of the costume of hunters. In antique marbles it is repre- sented tastefully ornamented. Being laced in front it fitted tightly to the leg. Buskin is used in contradistinction to the sock, {soccus) the flat-soled shoe, worn by comedians, &c., and both terms are used to express the tragic and comic drama. BUST, or BUS'TO, in sculpture, de- notes the figure or portrait of a person in relievo, showing only the heail. shoul- ders, and stomach, the arms being lopped off. The stomach and shoulders are, strictly speaking, the bust. The term is also used by the Italians, for the torso or trunk of the body, from the neck to the hips. BUS'TUM, in antiquity, a funeral pilo on which the dead bodies of the Romans used to be burnt. Hence, Bustua'rh were gladiators who fought about tho bustum of any person in the celebration of his obsequies. BY'-LAWS, or BYE'-LAWS, private and peculiar laws for the good govern- ment of a city, court, or other community, made by the general consent of the mem- bers. All by-laws are to bo reasonable, and for the common benefit, not private advantage of any particular persons, and must be agreeable to the public laws in being. BYZAN'TINE, a gold coin of the value of 15Z., so called from being coined at Byzantium. Also an epithet for any- thing pertaining to Byzantium, an an- cient city of Thrace, situated on the Bos- phorus. BYZAN'TINE HISTORIANS, a se- ries of Greek historians and authors, who lived under the Eastern Empire between the 6th and the 15th centuries. They may be divided into three classes: 1. Historians whose works form a continu- ous history of the Byzantine Empire from the fourth century of the Christian era down to the Turkish conquest of Con- stantinople. They are nearly thirty in number, with various shades of literary merit ; but their works constitute the al- most onl3' authentic source of the history of that eventful period. 2. General chron- iclers or historians, whose works, embra- cing a wider range than those of the for- mer, treat chiefly of the chronography of the world from the oldest times. 3. Au- thors who confined their attention to tho politics, statistics, antiquities, manners, (fee., of the Romans. These two classes combined amount also to about thirty, and their writings give an excellent illus- tration of the times of which they treat, whether as historians, chroniclers, anti- quaries, or politicians. c. C, the thirdletter and second consonant of the alphabet, is pronounced like k he- fore the vowels o, o, and u, and like s bo- fore e, i, and y. Before k it has a pecu- liar sound, as in chance, chalk ; in chord and some other words, it is hard like k; but in man}' French words it is soft be- fore /(, like s, as in chaise, chagrin, Ac. As a numeral C stamls for 100, and C C for 200, itc. ; as an abbreviation it stands for Christ, as AC. Anno Christi, or Ante CO CYCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE [cad Christum ; also for Companion, as C.B. Companion of the Bath. And in music, C after the cliff, is the mark of common time. CAA'BA, or CAA'BAH, properly sig- nifies a square building; but is particu- larly applied by the Mahometans to the temple of Mecca, built, as they pretend, by Abraham, and Ishmaul his son. It is towards this temple they always turn their faces when they pray, in whatever part of the world they happen to be. This temple enjoys the privilege of an nsylum far all sorts of criminals; but it is most remarkable for the pilgrimages made to it by the devout Mussulmans, who pay so great a veneration to it, that they believe a single sight of its sacred walls, without any particular act of de- votion, is as meritorious in the sight of God, as the most careful discharge of one's duty, for the space of a whole year, in any other temple. CABAL', denotes a number of persons united in some close design, and is some- times used synonymously with faction. This term was applied to the ministry of Charles II., from the initial letters of their respective names, viz., Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale. CAB' ALA, a mysterious kind of science pretended to have been delivered by rev- elation to the ancient Jews, and trans- mitted by oral tradition to those of our times ; serving for the interpretation of the books both of nature and scripture. CAB'INET. a select apartment set apart for writing, studying, or preserv- ing anything that is precious. Hence we say, a cabinet of paintings, curiosi- ties, Ac. — Also, the closet or private room in the royal palace, where councils are held ; likewise the ministers of state ■who are summoned to attend such coun- cils. CABI'RT, certain deities greatly ven- erated by the ancient Pagans in Greece and Phoenicia, who were supposed to have a particular influence over maritime af- fairs. Various oi)inions have been enter- tained concerning the nature and origin oftheCabiri; but from the multiplicity of names applied to them, together with the ■,.rofound secrecy observed in the celebra- tion of their rites, an almost impenetrable veil of mystery has been thrown around their history. They seem to have been men who, having communicated the art of molting metals, etc.. were deified by a grateful jiostcrity. Their worship was chiefly cultivated in the island of Samo- thracia, whence it was afterwards trans- ferred to Lemnos, Imbros, and certain towns of Troas. They were styled the off- spring of Vulcan, though their name was derived from their mother Cabera, daugh- ter of Proteus. Their number is variously given. Those who were initiated in their rites were held to bo secured against all danger by sea and hind. Their distin- guishing badge was a fiurple girdle. CACOE'THES, an ill habit or propen- sity ; as the cacoethes scribendi, an itch for authorship. CAC'OPHONG, in rhetoric, an un- couth, bad tone of the voice, proceeding from the ill disposition of the organs. CAOOPH'ONY, in rhetoric, a defect of style, consisting in a harsh or disagree- able sound produced by the meeting of two or more letters or syllables, or by the too frequent repetition of the same letters or syllables : e.g. And oft the ear the open vowels tire.— Pope. CACOSYN'TIIETON, in grammar, an improper selection and arrangement of words in a sentence. CA'CUS, in fabulous history, the son of Vulcan, a robber of Italy, whose dwell- ing was in the Aventine wood. His ex- ploits form the subject of a fine episode in the 8th book of the ^Eiieid. He was represented as a frightful monster of en- ormous strength, who, after a long life of crime, was at length slain by Her- cules, from whom he had stolen some oxen. To express his gratitude for his victory, Hercules erecteil the Ara Ma\C- iina ; and Evandor, with his infant colony of Arcadians, performed divine honors to Hercules as their benefactor. CA'DENTIE, in grammar, the fall of the voice ; also the flow of verses or periods ; in music, the conclusion of a song, or of some parts thereof, in certain places of the piece, dividing it as it were into so many numbers or periods. The cadence takes place when the parts fall or terminate on a note or chord naturally expected by the ear, just as a period closes the sense in the paragraph of a discourse. A cadence is cither perfect or imperfect. The former Avhcn it consists of tveo notes sung after each other, or by degrees conjointed in each of the two parts, the harmony of the fifth preceding that of the key-note ; and it is called perfect, because it satisfies the ear more than the latter. The latter imperfect; that is, when the key-note with its har- mony precedes that of the fifth without its added seventh. A cadence is said to c.k] AND TFIE FINE ARTS. 51 be broken or interrupted when the bass rises a major or minor secoml, instead of falling a fifth. CADET', one who is trained np for the army by a course of military discipline; such as the cadets at the militarj' col- leges of AVoolwich, Addiscombe, &c. In England there are three grand institu- tions for the education of cadets : Sand- hurst for the British line ; AVoolwich for the artillery and engineers ; and Addis- combe for the Indian army, both line and artillery. The academy at Sand- hurst was instituted by George III., for the purpose of affording general and pro- fessional instruction to the sons of pri- vate or military gentlemen, with the view of their obtaining commissions in the British army without purchase. Be- fore the commission is conferred, the cadet must undergo an examination be- fore a competent board in the classics, mathematics, militarj' drawing, &c. The academy at Woolwich was estab- lished with the view of qualifying cadets for the artillery or engineers ; and to this institution the master-general of the ordnance has the solo right of granting admission. The attention of the cadets is specially directed to geography ; gen- eral history, ancient and modern ; modern languages ; military drawing and sur- veying ; mathematics ; engineering and fortification. After the lapse of four years, generally, the cailets undergo an examination in the above mentioned branches of science ; when the most dis- tinguished are selected for the engineers, the others for the artillery. The college of Aildiscombe is estab- lished for the education of officers of the line, artillery, and engineers for the In- dian army. The plan of instruction pursued there combines the two sys- tems adopted at Sandhurst and at Wool- wich. In order to become a cadet in this institution, it is necessary to have the promise of a commission from a director of the East India Coi»pany ; and after a prescribed examination, an appointment is obtained in one of the branches of the Indian army, according to the merit or pleasure of the cadet. In France the academies for cadets which existed previously to the French Revolution have been merged in the Polytechnic schools. The Dutch possess two institutions of this nature ; one a-t Breda, the other at Delfl. In Germany every small state has a military school ; while those at Berlin, Vienna, and Munich arc on so extensive a scale as to challenge a comparison with any similar institutions in Europe. In Germany, too, the word cadet has a wider signification than in England, being ap- plied tf> those persons who, without hav- ing frequented a military school, join the army in the expectation of obtaining a commission when they have gained a competent knowledge of the service. In Russia there is a famous academy for cadets, which was instituted by Ann at St. Petersburg in 1732; and since its foundation has afforded instruction in military science to upwards of 9000 pupils, many of wnom have acquired celebrity in the annals of Russian litera- ture. In the United States there is one at West Point, on nearly the same princi- ple as that at Addiscombe. CADET'SIIIP, the commission given to a cadet to enter the East India Com- pany's service. CA'DI, a civil judge or magistrate in the Turkish empire. CADU'CEUS, the st.aff of Mercury or Hermes, which gave the god power to fly It was given to him by Apollo, as a re- ward for having assisted him to invent the Lyre. It was then a winged staff; but, in Arcadia, llcrnies cast it among serpents, who immediately twined them- selves around it, and became quiet. After this event, it was used as a herald of peace. It possessed the power of bestow- ing happiness and riches, of healing the sick, raising the dead, and conjuring spir- its from the lower world. On the silver coins of the ftoman emperors, the Cadu- cous was given to Mars, who holds it in the left hand, and the spear in the right, to show how peace succeeds war. C^ELATU'RA, from the Latin ccelum, the tool used : the art, called also by the Romans, sculptura, or chasing, if we mean "raised-work" Caslatura corres- ponds to the Grecian term toreutice, de- rived from toros, which in its true sense means only raised-work. Quintilian ex- pressly limits this term to metal, while he mentions wood, ivorj', marble, glass, and precious stones as materials for en- graving. Silver was the artist's favorite metal, but gold, bronze, and even iron, were embossed. Closely connected with this art was that of stamping with the punch, called by the Romans e.rcudere. Embossings were probably finished by loreutice, of which Phidias is called the inventor. The colossal statues of gold and ivory made by him and by Polyclotus 52 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE [CAl belong partly to sculpture by the ivory- work, and partly to toreutic art from tlie gold-work, the embossing of which was essentiiil to their character, as also to castings : the statue of Minerva was rich- ly embossed. Besides Phidias and Poly- cletus, Myron, Mys and Mentor are men- tioned as great toreutic artists. Arms, armor, &c., were adorned in this manner ; other articles, such as goblets and other drinking cups, were also embossed, partly with figures in alto-relievo, or with figures standing quite clear : also dishes, the ornaments of which were set in em- blemcE, or fastened slightly on as crustcc. Carriages were ornamented not only with bronze, but even with silver and gold embossings. Other articles of furniture, tripods, disks of candelabra, were thus ornamented. With this toreutice or em- bossing, must not be confounded the art of inlaying, empaistike, much practised in antiquity. C.ERI'TES TAB'UL.E, in antiquity, tables or registers in which the censors entered the names of those citizens, who for any misdemeanor wore deprived of their right of voting at an election. CiE'SAR, in Roman antiquity, the family name of the first five Roman em- perors, and afterwards adopted as a title by their successors. It was also used, by way of distinction, for the intended or presumptive heir of the empire. CiESA'RIANS, in Roman antiquity, ofiBcers or ministers of the Roman empe- rors, who kept an account of their reve- nues, and took possession in their name of such things as devolved or were confis- cated to them. C^SU'RA, a figure in prosody, by which a division or separation takes place in a foot that is composed of syllables belonging to diff"eront words. C.ET'ERIS PARIBUS, a term often used by mathematical and physical wri- ters ; the words literally signifying the rest, or other things, being alike or equal. Thus of a bullet, it may be said cccteris paribus, the heavier it is the grcnter the range, supposing the length and diame- ter of the piece anYS, a kind of gown, of woollen cloth wiob wide sleeves, worn by the Candys. Canephoros. Medes and Persians as an outside gar- ment ; it was usually of purple or similar brilliant color. CANEPHO'ROS, the bearer of the round basket containing the implements of sacrifice, in the processions of the Dio- nysia, Panathenea, and other public fes- tivals. The attitude in which they ap- pear in works of Art, is a favorite one with the ancient artists ; the figure ele- vates one arm to support the basket car- ried on the head, and with the other slightly raises her tunic. CANICULAR DAYS, or DOG DAYS, the name given to certain daj's of the year, during whicjj the heat is usually the greatest. They are reckoned about forty, and are set down in the almanacs as beginning on the 3d day of July, and ending on the 11th of August. In the time of the ancient astronomers, the re- markable star Sirius, called also Canic- ula, or the Dog Star, rose heliacally, that is, just before the sun, about the be- ginning of July; and the sultry heat which usually prevails at that season, with all its disagreeable effects, among which the tendency of dogs to become mad is not one of the least disagreeable, were ascribed to the malignant rage of the star. Owing to the precession of the equinoxes, the heliacal rising of Sirius now takes place later in the .year, and in a cooler season ; so that the dog days have not now that relation to the partic- ular position of the Dog Star from which they obtained their name. CANICULAR YEAR, the ancient so- lar year of the Egyptians ; so palled be- cause its commencement was determined by the heliacal rising of the Dog Star. The 58 CrCLOrEDIA OF LITEKATURE [CAH Egyptians chose this star for their obser- vations, either on account of its superior brightness, or because its heliacal rising corresponded with the annual overflow of the Nile. At a very earlj' period of his- tory the Egyptians had perceived that the solar year contains 365i days ; for their common years consisted of 365 days, and every fourth year of 366, as in the Julian Calendar. CAN'NON, a piece of ordnance, or a heavy metallic gun for a battery, mount- ed on a carriage. Guns of this kind are made of iron or brass, and of ditl'erent sizes, carrj'ing balls from three or four to forty-eight pounds' weight. The ex- plosion being directed by the tube, balls and missiles are carried to great distances with destructive force. In a field of bat- tle they are often drawn by horses on light carriages, and are called field-pieces, or flying artillery. CANOE', a small boat, made of the trunk of a tree, hollowed out by cutting or burning ; and sometimes also of pieces of bark joined together. It is impelled by a paddle instead of an oar ; and is used by the uncivilized nations in both hemispheres. CAN'ON, a word of various significa- tions, of which we can only enumerate the principal. 1. In cathedral and collegiate churches there are canons who perform some of the services, and are possessed of certain rev- enues connected with them. These are, strictly speaking, residentiary canons: foreign canons are those to whom col- legiate revenues are assigned without the exaction of any duty. 2. The laws and ordinances of ecclesi- astical councils are called canons. 3. The canon of Scripture signifies the authorized and received catalogue of the sacred books. The canon of the Old Testament, as received by the Catholics, differs from that of the Protestant church- es in regarding as inspired those books which they reject under the term Apoc- rypha. The catalogue received by the Jews themselves, which we adopt, was first enlarged by the Council of Carthage to the e.\tent in which it is held by our opponents, and that decision was formally confirmed by the Council of Trent. In the canon of tiie New Testament, how- ever, the agreement of Christian churches may be considered unanimous. There exist a .series of enumerations of sacred books of the latter covenant in the writ- ings of the first fi)ur centuries, the gene- ral agreement of which, and the satisfac- tory reasons which can be assigned in most cases of omission — there are no additions — distinctly mark the universal- ity of the judgment of the early churches in this matter. — In music, a perpetual fugue. This original method of writing this was on one line, with marks thereon, to show* where the parts that imitate were to begin and end. This, however, was what the Italians more particularly call canone chiuso, (shut) or canune in corpo. CAN'ONES.S, a description of religious women in France and Germany. Their convents were termed colleges. They did not live in seclusion. The college of Bemiremont was the oldest establishment of this order in France. Similar noble monasteries still exist in Germany, and the revenues and dignities of some belong to Protestants. CANONICAL HOURS, stated tim'is of the day set apart, more especially by the Romish church, for devotional pur- poses. In England the canonic»l hours are from 8 to 12 in the forenoon, before or after which the ceremony of marriage cannot be legally performed in any parish church. CAXONIZA'TION, a ceremony in the Romish church, by which holy men de- ceased are enrolled in the catalogue of saints. The privilege of canonizing was originally common to all bishops, and was first confined to the Pope by Alexan- der III. in 1170. When it is proposed to canonize any person, a formal process is instituted, by which his merits or de- merits are investigated. Hereupon the beatification of the person in question is pronounced by the Pope, and his canon- ization follows upon the production of testimony to miracles performed at his tomb or by his remains. The day of his death is generally selected to be kept in his honor, and is inserted as such in the calendar. CANOPY, a covering of velvet, silk, or cloth of gold, extended on a frame, and richly embroidered with suitable devices, supported and carried by four or more staves of wood or silver, borne in proces- sion over the heads of distinguished per- sonages, or over the hearse at the fu- nerals of noble persons. In the religious processions of the Catholic church it is borne over the Ilo.^t and sacred reliques. According to Roman use they are white, but in the French .and Flemish churches they are generally red. In England, the two colors seem to have been used indis- criminately. CANT, quaint or vulgar language, af- cap] AND THE FINE ARTS. 59 fectcd by particular persons or profes- sions, and not authorized by established usage. — In architecture, a term express- ing the position of any piece of timber not standing sqtiare. — Cant moulding, a moulding with a bevelled surface applied to the capitals of columns. CANTAB'ILE, in music, a term ap- plied to movements intended to be in a graceful and melodious style. CAXTAN'TE, in music, a term to de- note the vocal part of the composition. CAXTA'TA, a song, or composition, intermixed with recitatives, airs, and different movements, chiefly intended for a single voice, with a thorough bass, though sometimes with other instru- ments. CAN'THAHUS, a kind of drinking- cup with handles, sacred to Bacchus, who is frequently depicted on antique vases, Ac, holding it in his hand. CAN'TICjE, ancient dramatic solilo- quies, supposed to have been introduced as interludes. CAX'TICLES, the Song of Songs, in the Bible, supposed to be a marriage song written by Solomon ; to be explained by compositions of a similar nature in Eastern countries. By other writers it is supposed to be a series of sacred idols, each distinct and independent of the other. CANTILEEXA, in music, the treble melody, or upper part of any composi- tion. CANTILE'YER, in architecture, a piece of wood framed into the front or side of a house, and projecting from it, to sustain the eaves and mouldings over them. CANTO, a part or division of a poem, answering to what in prose is called a book. In Italian, canto is a song; and it signifies also the first treble, or highest vocal part. CAN'TO-FER'MO, in music, the sub- ject song. Ever}' part that is the sub- ject of counterpoint, whether plain or figured, is called by the Italians canto fermo. CAN'TONED, in architecture, is when the corner of a building is adorned with a pilaster, an angular column, rustic quoins, or anything that projects beyond the level of a wall. CAN'VAS, a coarse sort of cloth, of which there are several kinds. Among others, are, 1. That worked regularly in little squares as a basis for tapestry: 2. That which is called buckram : 3. The cloth used for pictures : And, 4. That employed for sails of ships, tents, Ac. Two kinds are prepared for artists' use ; the best is called ticking. It is primed with a ground of a neutral gray color, or with other colors, according to the fancy of the painter. Certain sizes being in greater request than others, they are kept stretched on frames ready for use ; for portraits, these are known by the names of Kit-cat, which measures 28 or 29 inches by 36 inches ; Three-quarters, measures 25 by 30 ; Half-lengtti, 40 by 50 ; Biskops' half-length, 44 or 45 by 56 ; Bishops'' whole lenstli, 58 by 94. CANZONE, or CANZO'NA, in music, a song or air in two or three parts, with passages of fugue and imitation ; but it ia sometimes used for a kind of lyric poem, in Italian, to which music may be com- posed in the style of a cantata. CANZONET', in music, a short song, in one or two parts. CAP, a part of dress made to cover the head. The use of caps and hats is re- ferred to the year 1449, the first seen in Europe, being at the entry of Charles VII. into Rouen : from that time they began to take place of hoods or chaperons. — Cap, in architecture, the uppermost part of any assemblage of principal or subor- dinate parts. — Cap of maintenance, one of the ornaments of state, carried before the kings of England at the coronation. It is of crimson velvet, faced with ermine. It is also frequently met with above the helmet, instead of wreaths, under gentle- men's crests. — Cap-a-pie, (French) from head to foot. CA'PET, the name of the French race of kings, which has given 118 sovereigns to Europe, viz., 36 kings of France, 22 kings of Portugal, 5 of Spain, 11 of Na- ples and Sicily, 3 of Hungary, 3 emperors of Constantinople, 3 kings of Navarre, 17 dukes of Burgundy, 12 dukes of Brittany, 2 dukes of Lorraine, and 4 dukes of Parma. CA'PIAS, in law, a writ of two sorts; one before judgment, to take the de- fendant ; the other after, which ia called the writ Of execution. 60 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE [cap CAPITAL, in commerce, the fund or stock, in money and goods, of a merchant, manufacturer, &c., or of a trading com- pany. — A floating capital is that which remains after payment is made for all the apparatus and implements of the business. — Pictitioas capital generally means nothing more or less than exces- sive credits, which throw the manage- ment and disposition of a great deal of property into the hands of persons who are not able to answer for the risks of loss from its bad management, or other causes. — Capital, in architecture, the uppermost part of a column or pilaster, serving as the head or crowning, and placed immediately over the shaft, and under the entablature. CAPITA'TION, a tax or imposition raised on each person in consideration of his labor, industry, office, rank, &c. It is a very ancient kind of tribute, and an- swers to what the Latins called tributum, by which taxes on persons are distin- guished from taxes on merchandise, called vectigalia. CAP'ITOL, a castle, in ancient Rome, on the Mons Capitolinus, where there was a temple dedicated to Jupiter, in which the senate assembled ; and on the same spot is still the city-hall or town-house, where the conservators of the Roman people hold their meetings. The foun- dations of the capitol were laid by Tar- quin the elder, in the year of Rome 139 : his successor Servius raised the walls, and Tarquin the Proud finished it in 221 ; but it was not consecrated till the third year after the expulsion of the kings, and establishment of the consulate. The cap- itol consisted of three parts, a nave, sa- cred to Jupiter; and two wings, the one consecrated to Juno, and the other to Minerva : it was a.scended by stairs ; the frontispiece and sides were surrounded with galleries, in which those who were honored with triumphs entertained the senate at a magnificent banquet, after the sacrifices had been offered to the gods. Both the inside and outside were enriched with numerous ornaments, tlie most distinguished of which was the statue of Jupiter, with his golden thun- der-bolt, sceptre, and crown. In the capitol also were a temple to Jupiter the guardian, and another to Juno ; with the mint; and on the descent of the hill was the temple of Concord. This beautiful edifice contained the most sncrcd deposits of religion, such as the ancylia, the books of the sv))ils, .tc. CAP'lTOLlNE GAMES, these were annual games instituted by Camillus, in honor of Jupiter Capitolinus, and in com- memoration of the preservation of the capitol from the Gauls. . There was also another kind of Capitoline games, insti- tuted by Domitian, and celebrated every five 3'ears, at which rewards and crowns were bestowed on the poets, champions, orators, historians, &c. CAPIT'ULA RURA'LIA, assemblies or chapters held by rural deans and pa- rochial clergy within the precinct of every distinct deanery. CAPITULARY, the body of laws or statutes of a chapter, or of an ecclesias- tical council. CAPITULA'TION, in military affairs, a treaty made between the garrison of a place besieged and the besiegers, for sur- rendering on certain conditions. The term is also applicable to troops in any situation in which they are compelled to submit to a victorious enemy. CAPIT'ULITM, in antiquity, a trans- verse beam in the military engines of the ancients, wherein were holes for the strings with which they were set in mo- tion. CAPOTE', a large great coat, with a hood or cowl, which is sometimes worn by sentinels in bad weather. CAPRIC'CIO, in music, the term for that irregular kind of composition in which the composer, without any re- straint, follows the bent of his humor. — Capriccio'so denotes that the movement before whidi it is written, is to be played in a free and fantastic style. CAP'TAIN, in the army, the com- mander of a company of foot or a troop of horse ; and in the naval or merchant service, the commander of a vessel. — A Captain-lieutenant is an officer, who, with the rank of captain and pay of lieu- tenant, commands a company or troop. — A Post-captain in the IJritish navy, is an officer commanding any man-of-war, from a ship of the line down to n ship- rigged sloop. — A man eminently skilled in war or military affairs is styled a "great-captain" as the Duke of Wel- lington. CAP'TION, in law, the act of taking any person by any judicial process. CAPTIVITY, in sacred history, a pun- ishment which God inflicted upon the Jews for their vices and infidelity. The first captivity was that of Egypt, from wliich the Israelites were delivered by Moses ; then followed six captivities dur- ing the governnicnt of the judges; but the greatest and most remarkable were car] AND THE FINE ARTS. 61 tbose of Judah nnd Israel, which hap- ^neil uiiJcr tho kings of those dififerent kingdoms. CAPUCHINS', an order of Franciscan friars in the llomi.sh church, so called from their capuche or hood sowed to their habits, and hanging down their backs. C AP'ULA, in antiquity, a wooden uten- sil with two handles for taking oil out of one vessel into another. The person who did this office was called the capulator. CAR'ABINE, or CAR'BINE, a short gun used by the cavalry. CAR'ACOLE, the half wheel which a horseman makes, either to the riglit or left. The cavalry make a caracole after each discharge, in order to pass to the rear of the squadron. CA'RAITES, a sect among the Jews ■who adhere closely to the text and letter of the scriptures, rejecting the rabbinical interpretations and the cabbala. CAR'AVAN, a company of merchants, travellers, or pilgrims, who associate to- gether in many parts of Asia and Africa, that they may travel with greater secu- rity through deserts and other places in- fested with robbers or exposed to other dangers. The commercial intercourse of Eastern and African nations has from the remotest ages been chiefly carried on by means of caravans, as the governments that have sprung up in those continents have seldom been able, even if they had had the will, to render travelling safe or practicable for individuals. Since the establishment of the Mohammedan faith, religious motives, conspiring with those of a less e.-calted character, have tended to augment the intercourse between dif- ferent parts of the Eastern world, and to increase the number and magnitude of the caravans. Mohammed, as is well known, enjoined all his followers to visit Mecca once in their lifetime ; and in obe- dience to a command so soleranlj' enjoin- ed and sedulously inculcated, large cara- vans assemble for this purpose in every country where the Mohammedan faith is established. There are four regular car- avans which proceed annually to Mecca ; the first from Damascus, composed of pilgrim*, travellers, and merchants, from Europe and Asia; the second from Cairo, for the Mohammedans of Barbary ; the third from Zibith, near the mouth of the Red Sea, where those of Arabia and In- dia meet; the fourth from Babylon, where the Persians assemble. Every caravan is under the command of a chief or aga, who has frequently under him such a number of troops cr forces as is deemed sufficient for its defence. When it is practicable they encamp near wells or rivulets, and ol)serve a regular disci- pline. Camels are almost uniformly used as a means of conveyance, in preference to the horse or any other animal, on ac- count of their wonderful patience ol fa- tigue, and their peculiarity of structure, which so admirably fits them for travel- ling through desert wastes. CARAVAX'SERA, a large public building, or inn, appropriated for the re- ception and lodgment of caravans in the desert. Though serving in lieu of inns there is this essential difference between them, that the traveller finds nothing in the caravansera for the use either of him- self or his cattle, but must carry all his provisions and necessaries with him. Car- avanseras are also numerous in cities, where they serve not only as inns, but as shops, warehouses, and even exchanges. CAR'CAXET, in archieology, a chain for the neck. CARCE'RES, in the ancient Circensian games, were inclosures in the circus, wherein the horses were restrained till the signal was given for starting, when, by an ingenious contrivance they all at once flew open. CARCIIE'SIUM, CARCHE'SION, the name of an antique drinking vessel, and also of the goblet peculiar to Bacchus, found on numerous antiques, sometimes in his own hand, as in the ancient repre- sentations in which the god is clothed and bearded, and sometimes at the Bacchic feasts. The carchesium has a shallow foot ; it is generally wider than it is deep, smaller towards the centre, and with han- dles rising high over the edge, and reach- ing to the foot. Its use in religious cere- monies proves it to have been one of the oldest forms of goblets. CAR'DIXAL, which in a general sense signifies ]jrincipal or pre-eminent, is formed of the Latin word cardo, a hinge, agreeably with the common expression, in which it is said of an important matter that everything turns upon it : thus Jus- tice, Prudence, Temperance, and For- titude are called the four cardinal vir- tues. — The cardinal signs, in astrono- my, arc Aries, Libra, Cancer, and Capri- corn. — The cardinal points of the com- pass, north, south, east, and west. — Cardinal numbers, in grammar, are the numbers, one, two, three, &c., which arc indeclinable, in opposition to the ordinal numbers, first, second, thir'l, »tc. CAR'DIXAL, in tho Roman hierarchy, an ecclesiastical prince and iiubordinato 62 CYCLOPEDIA. OF LITERATURE [car magistrate, who has a voice in the con- clave at the election of a pope, and who may be advanced to that dignity himself. The dress of a cardinal is a red soutanne, a rochet, a short purple mantle, and a red hat; and his title of address, "His emi- nence." CA'RET, in grammar, a character in this form a, denoting that something has been omitted, and is interlined. CARICATURE', in painting, an ex- aggerated representation of any object, in which any natural defects are over- charged, so as to make it appear ridicu- lous. CAR'ILLONS, a species of chimes fre- quent in the Low Countries, particularly at Ghent and Antwerp, and played on a number of bells in a belfry, forming a complete series or scale of tones or semi- tones, like those of the harpsichord and organ. CAR'MELITES, an order of mendi- cant friars, very numerous in Italy and Spain. They wear a scapulary, or small woollen habit of a brown color, thrown over the shoulders. CAR'MEN, a Latin term, used, in a general sense, to signify a verse ; but in a more peculiar sense, to signify a spell, charm, form of e.xpiation, execration, &c.. Couched in few words, placed in a mystic order, on which its efficacy was supposed to depend. CAR'MINE, a pigment or powder of a deep red or crimson color, procured from cochineal, and used for painting in minia- ture. CARNA'TIONS, in painting, the parts of a picture which represent the naked limbs, (tc. CARNE'IA, a festival observed in most of the cities of Greece, and especially at Sparta, in honor of Apollo, surnameij Carneius. The festival lasted nine days, and was conducted in imitation of the method of living in camps; for nine tents were erected, in each of which nine men of three different tribes lived nine days. C ARNE'LIAN, a precious stone, either red, flesh-color, or white. The finest car- nelians are tho,»o of the East Indies : there are some beautiful ones in the riv- ers of Silesia and Bohemia; and some of a quality not to be despised in Britain. The use to which they are most generally applied is that of seals. CAR'NIVAL, the feast or season of re- joicing previous to Lent, celebrated with (^reat s|)irit throughout Italy, when feasts, balls, operas, concerts, masquerades, &c., abound. The churches are filled with choristers, and the streets with masks This festival flourishes more particularly at Venice, where it begins on the second holiday in Christmas, and where it boasts to have had at one time seven sovereign princes, and thirty thousand foreigners among its votaries. CARNIVOROUS, an epithet applied to animals that feed on flesh. CAROLOT'IC COLUMNS, in architec- ture, columns with foliated shafts, deco rated with leaves and branches winding spirally around them, or forming crowns and festoons. CARO'LUS, a gold coin struck in the reign of Charles I., at that time valued at twenty shillings, but afterwards current at twentv-three. CAR'PENTRY, in building and archi- tecture, an assemblage of pieces of tim- ber connected bj' framing or letting them into each other, as are the pieces of a roof, floor, centre, &c. It is distinguish- ed from joinery by being put together without the use of other edge tools than the axe, adze, saw, and chisel ; whereas joinery requires the use of the plane. CAR'PET, a sort of stuti' wrought either with the needle or the loom, and used as a covering for the floor. Persian and Turkish carpets are the most costly ; but a variety of other kinds are used, many of which are both elegant and durable. CAR'RACK, a large armed vessel em ployed by the Portuguese in the East India and Brazilian trade. CARRA'GO, in the military art of the ancients, a barricade made by carts and wagons, which the Gauls and other bar- barous nations put in the way to impede the progress of an enemy. CARRA'RA, a hard white kind of mar- ble, somewhat resembling the Parian ; so called from the town of Carrara, where it was found. CARRONADE', a short piece of ord- nance, having a large calibre, and a chamber for the powder, like a mortar. CARRU'CA, in antiquity, a splendid kind of chariot or car on four wheels, which were made of brass, ivorj', silver, and sometimes of gold. CARTE-BLANCHE, a blank paper, signed at the bottom with a person's name, and given to another person with permission to fill it up as he pleases ; ap- plied generally in the sense of unlimited terins being granted. CAR'TEL, an agreement between two states for the exchange of their prisoners of war. — A cartel-ship, a ship commis- sioned in time of war to exchange the CAs] AND THE FINE ARTS. C3 prisoners of any two hostile powers ; also to carry any particular request from one power to another. The otlicer who com- mands her is ordereil to carry no cargo, ammunition, orimi)lementsof war, except a gun for the purpose of firing signals. CARTESIAN PHILOSOPHY, the philosophical system of Rene des Cartes, (born 1596,) a native of Franco, perhaps the most original thinker that country hiia produced. Des Cartes was the con- temporary of Bacon, and exercised an ecjually powerful influence, though in a manner widely different, on the progress of philosophy in Europe. What Bacon strove to accomplish by calling men's at- tention to experiment and observation of nature, Des Cartes proposed to attain by the search for a first and self-evident ground of all knowledge. This he finds in the act of consciousness, involving nc- cessaril3' the idea of self or mind. Con- sciousness is the act of thought, consti- tutes the essence of the soul, and is that which distinguishes it from matter. The ideas or objects of consciousness are of three kinds, — acquired, compounded, and innate. All j)hysical phenomena Des Cartes endeavored to account for by his celebrated vortices — motions excited by God, the source of all motion. CARTHAGINIAX, a native of an- cient Carthage, or something pertaining to that celebrated citj', which was situated on the northern coast of Africa, about twelve miles from the modern Tunis. It was founded by the Phoenicians, and de- stroyed by the Romans. CARTHU'SIANS, a religious order, founded in the year 1080, by St. Bruno. They received their name from Char- treuse, the place of their institution. They are so remarkable for their austeri- ty, that they never leave their cells ex- cept to go to church, nor speak to any person without leave. CARTOON', a design drawn upon large sheets of paper for the purpose of being traced upon any other substance, where the subject is to be finished. The most celebrated cartoons in existence are those of Raphael, seven of which are at Hamp- ton Court, and were originally designed for tapestry. CARTOUCH', a case of wood holding about four hundred musket balls, besides iron balls, from six to ten, to be fired out of a howitzer. Also, a portable box for charges. — In architecture, cartouches are blocks or raodillions used in the cor- nices of wainscoted apartments : also or- naments representing a scroll of paper. CAR'TRIDGE, a case of paper or parchment filled with gunpowder, and used in the charging of guns. The car- tridges for small arms, prepared for bat- tle, contain the powder and ball: those for cannun and mortars are made of pasteboard or tin. Cartridges without balls are called blank-cartridges. — The cartridsre-hox is a case of wood covercil with leather, with cells for cartridges, and worn upon a belt thrown over the left shoulder. CARTULARY, or CHAR TULARY^ a register-book, or record, as of a monas- tery. CARVING, a branch of sculpture usu- ally limited to works in wood and ivory, sculpture, properly so called, being gen- erally applied to carving in stone or mar- ble. Various kinds of wood were used by the ancients, chiefly for images of the gods, to each of which a difiFerent or par- ticular kind of wood was appropriated ; as, for instance, the images of Dionysia, the God of Figs, were made of the wood of the fig-tree. Ivory was also used to great extent by the ancients in their works of Art ; and the Chryselephantine sculpture, or the union of gold with ivory, was adopted by the greatest artists. For a long period prior to the Reformation, there was an immense demand for fine wood-carvings, as the remains in cathe- drals, churches, colleges, of screens, cano- pies, desks, chair-seats ; and in baronial halls, of door frames, staircases, chimney- pieces, cabinets, picture-frames, suffi- ciently show. CARYATI'DES, in architecture, col- umns, or pillars shaped like the bodies of women, and in the dress of the Caryan people. They were erected as trophies, and intended to represent the Caryan wo- men who were taien captive by the Athenians. Other female figures were afterwards used in the same manner, but they were called by the same name. CASCADE', a small waterfall, either natural or artificial. The word is ap- plied to such as are less than a cataract. CASE, the particular state, condition, or circumstances that befall a person, or in which he is placed. Also, any outside covering which serves to enclose a thing entirely, as packing-cases, or knife-cases. Case, in grammar, implies the diflferent inflections or terminations of nouns, serv- ing to express the different relations they bear to each other and the things they represent. — Action on the case, in law, is an action in which the whole cause of complaint is set out in the writ 64 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE [cASs CASE'MENT, a window that opens on hinges. Also, a hollow moulding. CASE-SHOT, musket balls, stones, old iron, (fee, put into cases and discharged from cannon. CASH, money in hand, or ready mo- ney, distinguished from bills. CASHIER', a person who is entrusted with the cash of some public company. In a banking establishment the cashier superintends the books, payments, and receipts of the bank : he also signs or countersigns the notes, and superintends all the transactions, under the order of the directors. CASK'ET, the diminutive of cask, a email chest or box, for jewels, &c. CASQUE, a piece of defensive armor, to cover and protect the head and neck in battle. CASQUETBL', a small steel cap or open helmet, without beaver or visor, but having a projecting umbril and flex- ible plates to cover the neck behind. CASSA'TION, Court of, one of the most important institutions of modern France, which gives to the whole juris- diction of that country coherency and uniformity, without endangering the ne- cessary independence of the courts. It was established by the first national as- sembly, and has been preserved, in every essential respect, under all the changes of the revolution and restoration. It properly signifies the annulling of any act or decision, if the forms prescribed by law have been neglected or justice has been perverted. CAS'SOCK, the vestment worn by cler- gymen under their gowns. CAST, among artists, any statue or part of a statue, of bronze, or of plaster- of-Paris.^ A cast is that which owes its figure to the mould mto which the mat- ter of it has been poured or cast while in a fluid state ; and thus difi"ers from a model, which is made by repeated efforts with a ductile substance, as any adhesive earth ; and from a piece of sculpture, which is the work of the chisel. CASTANETS', instruments formed of small concave shells of ivory or hard wood, fasteneil to the thumb and beat with the middle finger. The Spaniards and Moors use them as an accompani- ment to their saraband difnces and gui- tars. CASTE, the general name for the tribes of various employment, into which tlie Hindoos are divided in successive generations, and generations of families. The first caste is religious ; the second warlike ; the third commercial ; and the fourth laborers. Persons of the religious caste are universally denominated bram- ins ; the soldiers or princes are styled cutlery or rajahs; the traders, choutres or shudder!/ ; the lowest order, parias. CAS'TELLAIN, in feudal times, the owner, lord, or governor of a castle or fortified place. CAS'TELLANY, the lordship belong- ing to a castle ; or the extent of its land and jurisdiction. CAST'ING, with founders, the running of metal into a mould : among sculptors, it is the taking casts or impressions of figures, &c. Plaster-of-Paris is the most usual material employed for this pur- pose.^In architecture, a term used to denote the bending of the surfaces of a piece of wood from their original state, caused either by the gravity of the mate- rial, or by its being subject to unequal temperature, moisture, or the uniform texture of the material.* Called also Warping. CASTING OF DRAPERIES, in paint- ing or sculpture, consists in the proper distribution of the folds of the garments, so that they appear the result of accident rather than of study or labor. The ar- rangement of draperies sometimes gives the artist much trouble, but this is fre- quently caused by the material employed in the model being of a difi'erent sub- stance to that depicted in the picture. CAS'TLE, a fortress or place rendered defensible, either by nature or art. — English castles, walled with stone, and designed for residence as well as defence, are for the most part of no higher dale than the Conquest. Those previously erected had been suffered to fall into ruin ; and many writers have assigned this circumstance as a reason for the fa cility with which William the Norman made himself master of the country. It was the policy of this able general t<^ build a considerable number : and in pro- cess of time the martial tenants of the crown erected them for themselves; so that towards the end of Stephen's reign, we are told that there existed upwards of eleven hundred. At this period castles were an evil of the greatest magnitude to both the sovereign and the subject ; considerable struggles appear to have taken place with regard to their continu- ance ; several were demolished ; and their general decline commenced. A complete castle consisted of a ditch or moat, an outwork, called a bai-bican, which guard- ed the gate and drawbridge ; an artificial cat] AND THK FINE ARTS. 05 mount; an outer and inner bulliuni or inclosure ; and the keep, or lofty tower, in which the owner or governor resided, and under which were the dungconsi. — Castle-guard, a feudal tenure, or knight service, which obliged the tenant to per- form service within the realm, without limitation of time. — CasLle-irard, an ini- l)Osition laid upon subjects dwelling with- in a certain distance of a castle, for the jiurpose of maintaining watch and ward in the castle. CAS'TOR AND POL'LUX, the name given to a meteor which sometimes ap- pears at sea, attached to the extremities of the masts of ships under the form of balls of fire. AVhen one ball only is seen, it is called Helena. The meteor is generally supposed to indicate the cessa- tion of a storm, or a future calm ; but Helena, or one ball only, to portend bad weather. CAS'UISTRY, the science of resolving cases of doubtful propriety, or of deter- mining the lawfulness or unlawfulness of any act, by rules and principles drawn from the Scriptures, from the laws of so- ciety, or from reason. CA'SUS FCED'ERI.S, the case stipu- lated by treaty, or which comes within the terms of compact. CA'SUS OMIS'SUS, in law, where any particular thing is omitted, and not pro- vided for by the statute. CATACHRE'SIS, in rhetoric, a trope which borrows the name of one thing to express another. Thus Milton, in de- scribing Raphael's descent from the em- pyreal heaven, says, ■' Down thither prone in flight He speeds, and thro' the vast ethereal sky Hails between worlds and worlds." So in Scripture we read of the " blood of the grape." A catachresis, in fact, is the abuse of a trope, or when a word is too far wrested from its original signifi- cation. CAT'ACOMB, a grotto or subterrane- ous place for the burial of the dead. It is generally applied to a vast number of subterraneous sepulchres, in the Appian Wa_v, near Rome ; supposed to be the cells in which were deposited the bodies of the primitive Christian martyrs. But there are now many other catacombs, as at Paris, Ac. CATADRO'MUS, in antiquity, the etadium, or place where races were run. CATAFAL'CO, in architecture, a tem- porary structure of carpentry, decorated with painting and .sculpture, representing a tomb or cenotaph, and used in funeral ceremonies. That used at the final in- tcrmcntM)f Michael Angelo at Florence was of the most magnificent description, and perhaps unequalled as to the art employed on it by any used before or since. CATALEC'TIC, in Greek and Latin poetry, a verse wanting one syllable of its proper length : acatalectic, a ver.se complete in length ; hypcrcatalectic, hav- ing one syllable too many; bracliycatalec- tic, wanting two syllables. CAT'ALEP.SY, a disease in which the functions of the organs of sense and mo- tion are suspended, whilst the heart con- tinues to pulsate. The patients are said to be in a trance; and in this state they remain for some hours, or even days. Ammoniacal and ethereal stimulants are the most effectual restoratives. CAT'ALOGUE RAISONNE', in bib- liography, a catalogue of books, classed under the heads of their several subjects, and with a general abstract of the contents of works where the title does not sufficient- ly indicate it ; thus serving as a manual, to direct the reader to the sources of in- formation on any particular topic. The want of alphabetical arrangement is sup- plied by an index at the end. '^he cata- logue of the French Bibliotheque Royale (lU vols. fol. 1739-53) is said to be the best work of this description. CATAPUL'TA, or CAT'APULT, in antiquity, a military engine used for throwing arrows, darts, and stones upon the enemy. Some of these engines would throw stones of a hundred weight. Joscphus takes notice of the surprising effects of these engines, and says, that the stones thrown out of them beat down the battlements, knocked off the angles of the towers, and would level a whole file of men, from one end to the other. CAT'ARACT, a great fall of water over a precipice in the channel of a river, caused by rocks or other obstacles stop- ping the course of the stream ; as that of Niagara, the Nile, the Danube, and the Rhine. CATAS'TASIS, in poetry, the third part of the ancient drama, being that wherein the intrigue, or action, is sup- ported and carried on, and heightened, till it be ripe for unravelling in the catas- trophe. CATAS'TROPIIE, in dramatic poetry, the fourth and last part in the ancient drama, or that iinuiodiatoly succeeding the catastasis ; anil which consists in the unfolding and winding up of the plot, 66 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITEr.Al LRE [cat clearing up diflBculties, and closing the play. CATCH, in music, is defined to be "a piece for three or four voices, one of which leads, and the others follow in the same notes." But perliaps it may be more correctly described as a fugue in the unison, wherein to humor some con- ceit in the words, or to give them a dif- ferent meaning, the melody is broken, and the sense is interrupted in one part, and caught and supported by another. CAT'ECHISM, a form of instruction in religion, conveyed in questions and answers. The catechism of the Cliurch of England originally consisted of no more than a repetition of the baptismal vow, the creed, and the Lord's Prayer ; but King James I. ordered the bishops to add to it a short and plain explication of the sacraments. CAT'ECHIST, an officer in the primi- tive Christian church, whose business it was to instruct the catechumens in the first principles of religion, and thereby prepare them for the reception of bap- tism. CATECIIU'MENS, a name formerly given in the Christian church to such as Avere prepared to receive the ordinance of baptism. These were anciently the chil- dren of Tselieving parents, or pagans not fully initiated in the principles of the Christian religion ; and were admitted to this state by the imposition of hands and the sign of the cross. CAT'EGOREMAT'IC, in logic, when a word is capable of being employed by itself as a term, or predicate of a propo- sition. CAT'EGORY, in logic and metaphys- ics, a Greek word, signifying originally that which may be said or predicated of a thing ; a general term in reference to a less general one which is included un- der it. By Aristotle, from whom the word, and its correspondmg Latin term predicate, was borrowed by the school- men, it was applied to denote the most general of the attributes that may be as- signed to a subject. Of these ho attempt- ed an enumeration, under the name of substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, condition, state or habitude, action, and passion. The word has been revived in modern time by Kant, to ex- press the most general of the modes in which a thing can bo raised from an ob- ject of sense to an object of intellect ; or, in other words, the forms or conditions which must pre-exist in the understand- ing, in order that an act of intelligence m.Ty take place. The difference between the categories of Kant and those of Aris- totle is this, that the latter are mere gen- eralizations from experience, which may consequently be multijilied indefinitely ; whereas the former result from a profes- sedly exhaustive analysis of the human understanding as it is in itself, or formal- ly, that is, apart from all consideration of its object-matter CATENA'RIAN ARCH, in architect- ure, an arch whose form is that of a chord or chain suspended from two fixed points at, its extremities. CAT'GUT, the name for the strings made of the intestines of sheep or lambs, used in musical instruments, Ac. Great quantities are imported from Lyons and Italy. CATHE'DRA, in archgeology, a term used to denote the pulpit, or the profes- sor's chair. It originally signified any chair. — Among ecclesiastical writers it de- notes a bishop's see, or throne. Hence, ex cathedra is a phrase which is much used among the clergy of the Romish church, in relation to the solemn decrees of the pope. CATHE'DRAL, the principal church of a diocese, in which is the throne of the bishop. The term cathedra was original- ly applied to the seats in which the bish- op and presbyters sate in their assem- blies, which were held in the rooms in which the worship of the first Christians was also performed before they had liber- ty to erect temjjles for that purpose. In after-times the choir of the cathedral church was made to terminate in a semi- circular or polygonal apsis ; and in the recess thus formed were placed the throne of the bishop in the centre, and seats of an inferior class for presbyters. CATHER'INE, St., of Alexandria, the patron saint of Philosophy and the Schools. The pictures of her are almost innumerable ; as patron saint or martyr, her attributes are a broken wheel set round with knives, and a sword, the in- struments of her martyrdom. CATH'OLIC, an epithet properly sig- nifying universal. Originally this appel- lation was given to the Christian church in general, but now the Romish church assumes it exclusively to itself; whence the name of Roman Catholics has been applied, since the Reformation, to the followers of the Romish doctrine and dis- cipline. — Catholic Majesty, the title giv- en to the king or queen of Spain. — Cath- olic Priest, a clergyman or priest ordained to say mass and administer the sacra- CBCj AND THE FINE ARTS. 67 ments, Ac, according to the ritos of the Romish church. CATOP'TROMANCY, a species of div- ination among the ancients, which was performed tor the sicii, by letting down a mirror, fa.^tencd by a thread, into a foun- tain before the temple of Ceres, to look at his face in it. If it appeared distorted and ghastly, it was a sign of death ; if fresh and healthy, it denoted a speedy recovery. CAUSALITY, or CAUSA'TION, a- mong metaphysicians, the action or pow- er of a cause in producing its efi'ect. CAUSE, that from whence anything proceeds, or by virtue of which anything is done : it stands opposeil to effect. We get the ideas of cause and effect from our observation of the vicissitude of things, while we perceive some qualities or sub- stances begin to exist, and that they re- ceive their existence from the due appli- cation and operation of other beings. That which produces is the cause; that which is produced, the effect. — Causes are distinguished, by the schools, into effi- cient, material, final, and formal. Effi- cient Causes are the agents emploj'ed in the production of anything. Alaterial Causes, the subjects whereon the agents work ; or the materials whereof the thing is produced. Final Causes are the mo- tives inducing an agent to act : or the design and purpose for which the thing was done. Causes are again distinguished into physical and moral ; universal, or particular ; principal, or instrumental : total, or partial ; univocal, equivocal, &c. — Cause, among civilians, is the same with action ; denoting any legal process which a party institutes to obtain his de- mand, or by which he seeks his supposed right. CAUTIO'NE ADMITTEN'DA, inlaw, a writ which lies against a bishop that holds an excommunicated person in prison for contempt, after he has offered suffi- cient caution or security to obey the or- ders of the church. On receipt of this writ, the sheriff warns the bishop to take caution. CAV^ALCADE' a pompous procession of horsemen, equipages, &c., by way of parade to grace a triumph, public entry, or the like. CAVALIER', a gallant armed horse- man. It was also an appellation given to the pnrty of Charles I. to distinguish them from the parliamentarians, who were called Roundheads. — In fortifica- tion, a work raised within the bod}' of a place, above the other works. CAVALRY, a body of soldiers on horseback ; a general term for light-horse, dragoons, lancers, and all other troops who are armed and mounted. Their chief use is to make frequent excursions to the disturbance of the enemy, and in- tercept his convoys ; in battle, to support and cover the infantry, and to break through and disorder the enemy. The use of cavalry is probably nearly as an- cient as war itself. At the present day the cavalry is divided into light and heavy horse, which are employed for diflferent purposes. The heavy cavalry, with de- fensive armor (cuirassiers,) is generally employed where force is requisite ; the lighter troops are used in small detach- ments, where swiftness and continued ef- fort are required. CA'VEAT, an entry in the spiritual courts, by which the probate of a will, letters of administration, license of mar- riage, &c., may be prevented from being issued without the knowledge, and, if the reason be just, the consent of the party entering the caveat. CAVERN, a natural cavity, or deep hollow place in the earth, arising either from arches accidentally made, or from streams of water flowing under ground. One of the grandest natural caverns known is Eingal's cave, in StafFa, one of the western islands of Scotland. The grotto of Antiparos, in the Archipelago, is celebrated for its magnificence. In some parts, immense columns descend to the floor ; others present the appearance of trees and brooks turned to marble. The Peak Cavern, in Derbyshire, is also a celebrated curiosity of this kind. It is nearly half a mile in length, and, at its lowest part, 600 feet below the surface. Many caves are formed by the lava of volcanoes. In the Cevennes mountains, in France, are caverns and grottoes of great extent, and which abound in objects of curiosity. But the largest we read of is the cavern of Guacharo, in South America, which is said to extend for leagues. C A VET 'TO, in architecture, a hollow member, or round Cdueave moulding, containing the quadrant of a circle ; and used as an ornament in cornices. CECIL'IA, St., the patroness of music, and supposed inventress of the organ ; she suffered mnrtyrdom by being plunged into a vessel of boiling oil. She is some- times depicted with a gash in her neck, and standing in a cauldron, but more frequently holding the model of an or- gan, and turning her head towards hoa- C8 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE [CES Ten, as if listening to. the music of the spheres. CEIL'ING, in architecture, the upper part or roof of a room, being a lay or covering of plaster over laths, nailed on the bottom of the joists which bear the floor of the upper room, or on joists put up for that purpose where there is no up- per room, hence called coiling joists. CEL'ARENT, in logic, a mode of syllo- gism, wherein the major and conclusion are universal negative propositions, and the minor an universal affirmative ; as " No man that is a hypocrite can be saved : Every man who with his lips only cries Lord, Lord, is a hypocrite : There- fore, no man, who with his lips only cries Lord, Lord, can be saved." CEL'EBE, a vase, found chiefly in Etruria, distinguished by its peculiarly shaped handles, which are pillared. CEL'ERES, in Iloman antiquity, a regiment of body-guards belonging to the Roman kings, established by Romulus, and composed of 300 youn^ men chosen out of the most illustrious Iloman fami- lies, and approved by the suffrages of the curia; of the people, each of which fur- nished ten. CELES'TIAL, in its first and obvious sense, denotes something pertaining to, or dwelling in heaven. In mythology, the term is applied to the residence of the gods, supposed to be in the clouds or stars ; and hence the space in which the stars are situated are commonly called the celestial spaces. CEL'ESTINS, a religious order of Christians, reformed from the Bernardins by Pope Celestin V. The Celestins rise two hours after midnight to say matins; they eat no flesh at any time, except ■when sick, and fast often. Their habit is a white gown, a capuche, and a black scapularv. CELEUS'MA, in antiquity, a naval shout serving as a signal for the mari- ners to ply their oars, or to cease from rowing. It was also niiide use of to sig- nify the joyful acclamation of vintagers, and the shouts of the conquerors over the vanquished. CELIB'ACY, an unmarried or single state of life, to which, nccording to the doctrine and the discipline of the church of Rome, the clergy are obliged to con- form. CEL'TIC, pertaining to the CcUk, or primitive inhabitants of Britain, Gaul, Spain. Thus we say Celtic customs, Celtic origin, Celtic remains, Ac. CEM'ETERY, a repository for the dead. Among modern improvements, perhaps few are more deserving of commendation than the custom, recently introduced, of appropriating an eligible spot of ground, at a convenient distance from populous towns, for the purpose of human inter- ment. CEN'OTAPH, a monument erected to a deceased person, but not contaiuing the remains. Originally cenotaphs were raised for those only whose bones could not be found, who had perished at sea, &c., or to one who died far away from his native to-\vn. The tomb built by a man during his life-time for himself and family was called a cenotaph. CEX'SER, in the religious rites of the ancients, was a vase, containing incense to be used in sacrificing to the gods. Cen- sers were likewise in use among the Jews, as we find in the 1 Kings vii. .50. "Solo- mon, when he prepared furniture for the temple of the Lord, among other things made censers of pure gold." CEN'SOR, an officer in ancient Rome, whose business it was to reform the man- ners and to value the estates of the peo- ple. At first they were chosen out of the senate, but after the plebeians had got the consulate open to them, they soon arrived at the censorship. Cicero reduces their functions to the numbering of the people, the correction and reformation of man- ners, the estimating the eff"ects of each citizen, the proportioning of taxes, the superintendence of tribute, the exclusion from the temples, and the care of the public places. The otHce was so consider- able, that none aspired to it till they had passed all the rest. CEN'SURE, a judgment which con- demns some book, person, or action, or more particularly a reprimand from a superior. — Ecclesiastical censures are penalties by which, for some striking malconduct, a member of a church is de- prived of the communion of the church, or prohibited from executing the sacer- dotal office. CEN'SUS, in Roman antiquity, an authentic declaration made before the censors, by the several subjects of the empire, of their respective names and places of abode. This declaration was registered by the censors, and confainecls of case, built in large parishes for tho accommodation of the inhabitants ; free chapels, which were founded by different kings ; chapels belonging to particular colleges; domestic chapels, built by no- blemen or gentlemen for the use of their families. CHAP'ELRY, the precinct belonging to a chapel, in distinction from a parish, or that belonging to a church. CHAP'LAIN, an ecclesiastic who per- forms divine service in a oiiapsl ; but it more commonly means one who attends upon a king, prince, or othor person of qu.ality, for the performance of his cleri- cal duties in the private chapel. CHAP'LET, in a general sense, a gar- land or wreath to be worn on the head. — In architecture, a little moulding, carved into round beads, pearls, etc. — Chaptet, a string of beads used by the Roman Catho- lics, by which they count the number of their prayers, and are called paternos- ters. This practice is believed to have been introduced by Peter the Hermit into the church on his return from tho Holy Land, the Orientals using a kind of chaplet called a chain, and rehearsing one of the perfections of God on each link or bead. CHAP'TER, in ecclesiastical polity, is an assembly for the transaction of such business as comes under its cognizance. Every cathedral is under the superinten- dence of the dean and chapter of its canons. A meeting of the members of an order of knighthood is also called a chapter. CHAP'TER-HOUSE, in architecture, the apartment (usually attached) of a cathedral or collegiate church, in which the heads of the church or the chapter meet to transact business. CHAR'ACTER, that which distin- guishes each species of being in each genus, and each individual of each spe- cies. In man, character consists of tho form of the body, stature, and gait, which distinguish him from other ani- mals. In mankind, the natural or acci- dental peculiarities resultisg from sox, temperament, age, climate, the exercisa 74 CVCLOPEDIA OF LITEHATLRE [CIIA of the passions, the position of the indi- vidual in the social scale, and his mode of living. These- peculiarities and differ- ences are, afler the study of the human figure in general, the most important subjects of the study of the painter and sculptor, since upon these peculiarities and differences depend all the signifi- cance of their compositions. Each genus, each family of animals, has also its gen- eral and particular character. So also in the inanimate productions of nature, trees, rocks, fields, and meadows, which varj' in reality as well as in appearance, according to the climate, season, time of day, accidental condition of the sky, and also according to the modifications they receive at the hands of man, the effect of time, or by the effect of natural acci- dents. If all these things, observed with sagacity and selected with taste, are faithfully represented in a picture, wo say that the animals, the trees, the rocks of the picture have good character. CHARACTERIS'TIC, in a general sense, a peculiar mark or character, whereby a person or thing is distinguish- ed from all others. CHARADE', a syllabic enigma, so named from its inventor, made upon a word the two syllables of which, when separately taken, are themselves words. It consists of three parts ; the two first describing the syllables separately ; the second alluding to the entire word. A charade can only bo called complete if the different enigmas which it contains are brought into a proper rel.ation to each other, and as a whole unite in an epi- grammatic point. The following charade, which we borrow from the Diction naire de I' Academic Francaise, may be regard- ed as a good specimen of this species of riddle : — " My first makes use of my second to eat my whole ;" the solution being chieii-dent, (do<^-too/h,) or dog's grass. The word ckaruile has been ap- plied to this sort of amusement, from the name of its inventor. CHARGE, in a general sense, is that which is enjoj'ed, committed, intrusted or delivered to another, implying care, cus- tody, oversight, or duty to be performed by the party intrusted. Charge, in civil law, the instructions given by the judge to the grand jury. — In ecclesiastical law, the instructio!is given by a bishop to the clergy of his diocese. CHAR'I()T, in antiquity, a car or ve- hicle used formerly in war, and called by the several names of biga, triga, qua- driga, &c., according to the number of horses which drew thcui. ^Vhen the war- riors came to encounter in close fight, they alighted and fought on foot; but when they were weary they retired into their chariot, and thence annoj'ed their enemies with darts and missive weapons Besides this sort, wo find frequent men- tion of the cur r us falcati, or chariots armed with hooks or scythes, with which whole ranks of soldiers were cut off to- gether : these were not only used by the Persians, Sj'rians, Egyptians, Ac, but we find them among our British ances- tors. — -The Roman triumphal chariot was generally made of ivory, round like a tower, or rather of a cylindrical figure ; sometimes gilt at the top and ornamented with crowns ; and, to represent ii victory more naturally, they used to stain it with blood. It was usually drawn by four white horses, but oftentimes by lions, ele- phants, tigers, bears, leopards, t that the Greeks ap- plied the term cinnabari, generally meaning cinnabar, to this resin. Cinna- bar, as well as dragon's blood, was used in monochrome pamting ; afterwards ruddle, especially that of Sinopia, was j)referred, because its color was less daz- zling. The ancients attached the ideas of the majestic and lioly to cinnabar, therefore they painted witli it the statues of Pan, as well as those of Jupiter Cap- itolinus and Jupiter Triuiiiphans. It was used upon gold, marble, and even tombs, and also for uncial letters in writ- ing, down to recent times. The Byzan- tine emperors preferred signing with it. Its general use was for walls, on which nnuli miiney was spent: in ])laces wliich were diimp and e,\i)0S('d to the weather it became black, unless protected by en- caustic wax. CINQUE CENTO, this generic term, which is a mere abbreviation tw five hun- dred, is used to designate the style of Art which arose in Italy shortly after the year 1.'500, and therefore strictly the Art of the si.\teenth century. The charac- teristics of this style are, a sensuous de- velopment of Art as the highest aim of the artist, and an illustration of subjects drawn from cla;-sical niytlioldgy and his- tory. CINQUE-FOIL, a figure of five equal segments derived from the leaf of a plant so called, particularly adapted for the representation of the mysteries of th« Rosary. It is frequently seen in irregu lar windows, one of which is engraved a; a specimen. CINQUE-PORTS, the five ancient port; on the east coast of England, opposite tt France, namelj', Dover, Hastings, Hythe, Romnej', and Sandwich, to which wer"; afterwards added, as appendages, AVin- chelsea and Rye. As places whero strength and vigilance were necessary, and where ships might put to sea in case; of sudden emergency, they formerly re- ceived considerable attention from gov- ernment. They have several privileges, and are within the jurisdiction of thi? Constable of Dover Castle, who, by his office, is called AVarden of the Cinque- Ports. CI'PIIER, or CY'PIIER, one of the Arabic characters, or figures, used in com- putation, formed thus 0. A cipher stand- ing by itself signifies nothing; but when placed at the right hand of a figure, it increases its value tenfold. — By cipher is also denoted a secret or disguised man- ner of writing; in which certain charac- ters arbitrarily invented and agreed on by two or more persons, are made to stand for letters or words. CIP'OLIN, a green marble from Rome, containing white zones. CIP'PUS, in antiquity, a low column, with an inscription erected on the high- roads, or other places, to show the way to travellers, to serve as a boundary, to mark the grave of a deceased person, &c. CIRCE'AN, pertaining to Circe, the fabled daughter of Sol and Perseus, who was supposed to possess grciit knowledge of magic and venomous herbs, by which she was able to charm and fascinate. CIRCEN'SIAN GAMES, (Circenses Lttdi.) a general term, under which was comprehended all combats exhibited in cir] AND TIIK FINE ARTS. the Roman circu?, in imitation of the Olympic games in tJ recce. Most of tiie fe.ists of the Romans were accompanied with Circensiaii games ; and the magis- trates, and other officers of tlic republic, frequently presented the i)eo])le with them, in order to gain their favor; but the grand games were held for five days, commencing on the ITsth of .September. CIR'CLE, the circle has always been considered as the emblem of Heaven and Eternity, hence many figures in Chris- tian design are constructed on its prin- ciple, such as the Rotation of the Seasons, which are constantly returning; or the Adoration of the Lamb, and other sub- jects which are found in the great wheel- windows of painted churches. CIR'CULATINtt ME'DIUM, a term in commerce, signifying the medium of exchanges, or purchases and sales, wheth- er this medium be gold or silver coin, paper, or any other article ; and it is therefore of a more comprehensive na- ture than the term money. All people have a circulating medium of some de- scription, and, accordingly, we find all the tribes of savages hitherto discovered re- ferring to some article in estimating the value of the various commodities which compose their capital. But from the ear- liest times, the precious metals, where they could be had, have been preferred for this purpose, because they comprised a sufficient value in a small compass and weight to be a convenient medium. CIRCUM AM'BIENT, an epithet given to anything that surrounds or encom- passes another on all sides; chiefly used in speaking of the air. CIRCU.MCI'SION, the initiatory rite of the Jewish covenant ; which, as is re- corded, was first enjoined to Abraham by God, and after his posterity had neglected it during tiieir wanderings through the desert, was solemnly renewed upon the passage of the Jordan. This custom has been long ])revalent amr)ng Eastern na- tions. Herodotus refers to it as the prac- tice of the Egyptians and Ethiopians, and as borroweii from them by the Phoeni- cians and Syrians. It does not apj)ear, however, to have been considered by these nations in the light of a religious cere- mony. It is enforced by the Koran upon all the disciples of Mahomet, whether from an idea of salubrity vulgarly at- tributed to it in the East, or merely as a distinguishing rite. CIR'CUMFLEX, in grammar, an ac- cent serving to note or distinguish a syl- lable of an intermediate sound between acute and grave : generally somewhat long. CiRCUMFORA'NEOUS, an epithet for wandering" about. — Circumjhraneous musicians, male and female, are daily seen at the doors of hotels in France ; and sometimes they enter the room, expecting a few sous for their reward. IS'or are characters of a similar description by any means rare in London or New York. CIRCUMLOCUTION, a paraphrasti- cal method of expressing one's thoughts, or saying in many words that which might have been said in few. CIRCUxMPOTA'TION, in antiquity, a funeral entertainment which was given in honor of the deceased to the friends that attended. It was afterwards abol- ished by law. CIRCUMROTA'TION, the act of roll- ing or revolving round, as a wheel. CIRCUMSTAN'TIAL EVIDENCE, in law, is that kind of evidence obtained from circumstances which necessarily or usually attend facts of a particular na- ture. It is used to corroborate personal evidence. CIRCUMVALLA'TION, or line of circumvallation, in the art of war, is a trench bordered with a parapet, thrown up round the besieger's camp, by way of security against any army that may at- tempt to relieve the place besieged, or to prevent desertion. CIRCUS, a straight, long, narrow building, whose length to its breadth was generalij' as five to one. It was divided down the centre by an ornamented bar- rier called the spina, and was used by the Romans for the exhibition of public spec- tacles and chariot races. There were several of these at Rome, of which the most celebrated was the Circus Maximus. Julius Ca!sar improved and altered the Circus Maximus ; and that it might serve for the purpose of a naumachia, supplied it with water. Augustus added to it the celebrated obelisk now standing in the Piazza del Popolo. No vestiges of this circus remain. Besides these were at Rome the circi of Flaminius, near the Pantheon ; Agonalis, occupying the site of what is now the Piazza Navona; of Nero, on a portion whereof St. Peter's stands ; Florus. Antoninus, and Aurelian, no longer even in ruins ; and that of Ca- racalla, which was 738 feet in length, and is sufficiently perfect in the present day to exhibit its plan and distribution in tlie most satisfactory manner. The specta- cles exhibited in the circus were callcl the Circcnsian games, and consisted chief- so CVCLOPEDIA OF LMERATURE CIV ly of chariot and horse races. The Ro- mans were passionately fond of them, and more particularly of the chariot races, which excited so great an interest in the times of the emperors as to divide the whole population of the city into factions, known by the names of the colors worn by the different charioteers. The disputes of these factions sometimes led to serious disturbances, and even bloodshed.- — In modern times, the word is applied to de- signate a circular enclosure for the ex- hibition of feats of horsemanship. CIST, in architecture and sculpture, a chest or basket. It is a term usually ap- plied to the mystic baskets employed in processions connected with the Eleusinian mysteries. They were originally of wick- er-work, and when afterwards made of metal the form and texture were preserv- ed in imitation of the original material. When sculptured on antique monuments it indicates some connection with the mys- teries of Ceres and Bacchus. The cista found at Preneste, and now in the Col- legia Romano, is of surpassing beauty ; on it is represented the expedition of the Argonauts in a style not unworthy of Grecian art, but by the inscription ap- parently of Italian workmanship. CISTER'CIANS, in church history, a religious order founded in the 11th cen- tury by St. Robert, a Benedictine. CITA'TION, in ecclesiastical courts, is the same with summons in civil courts. — A citation is also a quotation of some law, authority, or passage from a book. CITH'ARA, in antiquity, a musical in- strument, the precise structure of which is not known. CITHARIS'TIC, an epithet for any- thing pertaining to or adapted for the harp. CITII'ERN, an ancient stringed instru- ment, supposed to bear a resemblance to the guitar. CITY, a large town, incorporated and governed by particular officers. In Great Britain, it means a town having a bishop's see, and a cathedral ; but this distinction is not always observed in com- mon discourse. — War having rendered it requisite that cities should be defensible posts, the smallness of the space they oc- cupied became a consideration of impor- tance. Their inhabitants were taught to «rowd themselves together as much as possible ; and among the expedients re- torted to was that of building apartments over one another, thereby multiplying the number of dwellings without in- creasing the superficial magnitude of the place. Trade, too, by requiring a mul- titude of persons upon one spot, hai always been the foundation of what wq now call cities. Cities usuallj' possess, by charter, a variety of peculiar privi- leges ; and these charters, though the^i now sometimes appear to be the support- ers of a narrow policy, were, in their in- stitution, grants of freedom at that time nowhere else jjossessed ; and by these the spell that maintained the feudal tyranny was broken. — City, (civitas,) among the ancients, was used in synonymous sense with what we now call an imperial city ; or, rather, answered to those of the Swiss cantons, the republics of Venice, Genoa, &c., as being an independent state, with territories belonging to it. CIVIC CROWN, (corona cirica,) in antiquity, a crown, or garland composed of oak-leaves, given by the Romans to any soldier who had saved the life of a citizen. Various marks of honor were connected with it : the person who re- ceived the crown wore it at the theatre ; and when he entered, the audience rose up as a mark of respect. CIVIL, an epithet applicable to what- ever relates to the community as a body, or to the policy and the government of the citizens and subjects of a state. It is opposed to criminal : as a civil suit, a suit between citizens alone, and not be- tween the state and a citizen. It is also distinguished from ecclesiastical, which respects the church ; and from ?« ilitary, which includes only matters relating to the army and navy. — The popular and colloquial use of the word cicil, means complaisant, polite. — Civil Law, is prop- erly the peculiar law of each state, country, or city; but as a general and appropriate term, it means a body of laws composed out of the best Roman and Grecian laws, comprised in the Institutes, Code and Digest of Justinian, Ac, and, for the most part, received and observed throughout all the Roman dominions for above 1200 years. This law is used un- der certain restrictions in the English ecclesiastical courts, as also in the uni- versity courts and tlic court of admiralty. — Civil List, the revenue appropriated to support the civil government ; also the officers of civil government who are paid from the public treasury. — Civil Death, in law, that which cuts off a man from civil society, or its rights and benefits, as banishment, outlawry, RAYER BOOK, the name given to the collection of all the offices of regular and occasional worship accord- ing to the forms of the church of England. .The basis of this book is to be found in the King's Primer, set forth in 1546 by Henry VIII., which was intended to con- vey instruction to the people in the most important parts of the church service ; but contained little more than the Creed, Lord's Prayer, Commandments, and Lit- any. This Primer underwent two revi- sions and republications under Edward VI., whose second Liturgy approaches very near in its contents to that which exists at present. It was at that review that the Sentences, Exhortation, Confes- sion, and Absolution were prefixed to the Daily Service ; the Decalogue was intro- duced into the Communion Service ; and certain remnants of the Romish customs were finally abolished, as the sign of the cross in confirmation and matrimony, the anointing of the sick, and the prayers for the dead. On the accession of Elizabeth, another review of the Liturgy was insti- tuted ; but the alterations effected were little more than in the selection of the lessonsi At the review in the reign of James I., after the conference with the Presbyterians at Hampton Court, no change of importance was introduced, except the addition of the explanation of the Sacraments in the Catechism. Again, when on the restoration of Charles 11. a, conference had been held with the dis- senters at the Savoy, the subject of the common prayer book was reconsidered in convocation. The services for the 'AOth of January and 29th of May were then ndderl, as also the form to be used at Sea. A few trifling alterations were made also in the other services; but these were tbo last that have been ciTected. On tho accession of William III. another revis- ion took place, and a considerable num ber of alterations were proposed and sup- ported by many of the bishops and clergy ; but they were rejected by con- vocation, and have never since been re- vived by authority. COM'MONS, the lower house of Par- liament, consisting of the representatives of cities, boroughs, and counties, chosen by men possessed of the property or qualifications required by law. This body is called the House of Commons ; and may be regarded as the basis of the British constitution. Tho origin of this assembly ought, perhaps, to be attributed to the necessity under which the first Edward perceived himself of counteract- ing a powerful aristocracy. Tiie feudal system had erected a band of petty mon- archs from whom the crown was in per- petual danger. It is to the struggles of those men vrith regal authoritj', in the course of which, in order to strengthen their opposition, they were obliged to make common cause with the people, that the existence of English liberty may be attributed. In a'word, the House of Commons arose on the ruins of the feu- dal fabric, gained ground as that decayed, pressed on its weaker parts, and, finally, levelled it with the dust. Though each member is elected by a distinct body of people, he is, from the moment of his election, the representative, not of those particular persons only, but of the king- dom at large ; and is to consider himself not merely as the organ througli which his constituents may speak, but as one who, having been intrusted with a gene- ral charge, is to perform it to the best of his judgment. In performance of this great function, his liberty of speech is bounded only by those rules of decency of which the house itself is tho judge ; and while, on the one hand, he is free to propose what laws ho pleases, on the other, he is exposed, as a private man, to the operation of the laws he makes. This assembly is composed of six hun- dred and fifty-eight members; and though many small boroughs were dis- franchised by the Reform Bill, the elect- ive franchise was given to several places of ri.'^ing importance, and a variety of alterations took place by adding to tho number of rei)resentatives of counties, Ac, so that the total number of mem- bers remains the same. COMMONWEALTH', in a general com] AND THE FINE ARTS. 99 sense, aji|)lie.s to the social state of a country, without leganling its f'orui of government. — In tiio usual, though more restricted sense, a republic, or that form of government in which the ailministra- tion of public aifairs is open to all with few, if any, exceptions. COMM'U'jMION, the act of comrauni- eating in the sacrament of the eucharist, or the Lord's Supper. — Comniunion Scr- cice, the ofKce for the administration of the holy sacrament. — Com in union Table, the table erected at the east end of a church, round which the communicants kneel to partake of the Lord's Supper. COMMU'NITY, a society of people living in the same place, under the same laws and regulations, and who have com- mon rights and privileges. History shows that the establishment of communities has been one of the greatest advances in human improvement : and they have proved, in different ages, the era lie and the support of freedom. COMMUTA'TION, in law. the change of a penalty or punishment from a greater to a less ; as when death is commuted fjr transportation or imprisonment. COM'PACT, a word denoting an agree- ment or contract, but generally applied iu a political sense; as, a compact or agreement entered into between nations and states for any particular object. COM'PANY, in a commercial sense, a society of merchants, mechanics, or other traders, joined together in a common in- terest. The term is also applied to large associations set on foot for the purpose of commerce ; as, the East India Com- pany ; a banking or insurance company, Ac. When companies do not trade upon a joint stock, but are obliged to admit any person properly qualified, upon pay- ing a certain fine, and agreeing to sub- rait to the regulations of the company, each member trading upon his own stock, and at his own risk, they are called regu- lated companies ; when they trade •upon a joint stock each member sharing in the common profit or loss, in proportion to his share in the stock, they are called joint stock com]>anies. — In military af- fairs, a small body of foot, consisting usually of a number from 60 to 100 men, commanded by a captain, who has under him a lieutenant and ensign. — Also, the whole crew of a ship, including the offi- cers. COMPAR'ISOX, in a general sen.se, the consideration of the relation between two persons or things, when opposed and set against each other, by which we judge of their agreement or difference. — Comparison of ideas, among logicians, that operation of the mind whereby it compares its ideas one with aiiotlier, in regard of e.vtent, degree, time, place, or any other circumstance, and is the ground of relations. — Comparison, in rhetoric, a figure by which two things are con- sidered with regard to a third, whu li is common to them both; as, a hero is like a lion in courage. Here courage is com- mon to hero and lion, and constitutes the point of resemblance. COMPART'MENT, in architecture, a proj)ortionable division in a building, nr some device marked in an ornamental part of the building. COMI'ENSA'TION, in civil law, a sort of right, whereby a person, who has been sued for a debt, demands that the debt may be compensated with what is owing him by the creditor, which, in that case, is equivalent to payment. COMl'ERTO'RltlM, a judicial inquest in the civil law, made by delegates or commissioners, to find out and relate the truth of a cause. COMPITA'LIA, a Roman feast cele- brated in honor of the Lares and Penates. Under Tarquinius Superbus, it is said that human victims were sacrificed at this solemnity. The gods invoked at it were termed Compitales, as presiding over the streets. COMPLEX'ION, among physicians, the temperament, habitude, and natural disposition of the body ; but, in general use, the word means the color of the skin. CO.M'PLEX TERMS, and COM'PLEX IDE'AS, in logic, are such as are com- pounded of several simple ones. COMPLU'VIUxM, in ancient architec- ture, an area in the centre of the Roman houses, so constructed that it might re- ceive the waters from the roT.'s. It is also the gutter or eave of a roof. COMPO'SIXG, that branch of the art of printing which consists in taking the types or letters from the cases, aud ar- ranging them in such an order as to fit them for the press. The instrument in which they are adjusted to the length of the lines is called a composing-stick. COM'POSITE OR'DER, in architec- ture, one of the five orders of architecture, and, as its name im])orls, composed of two others, the Corinthian and the Ionic Its capital is a vase with two tiers of acanthus leaves, like the Corinthian ; but instead of stalks, the shoots appear small and adhere to the vase, bending round to- wards the middle of the face of the capi- 100 CrCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE COM till; the vase i.- terminated by a fillet over which is nn astragal crowned by an ovolo. The volutes roll themselves over the ovolo to meet the tops of the upper row of leaves, whereon they seem to rest. The corners of tlie abacus are supported by an acanthus loaf bent upwards. The abacus resembles that of the Corinthian capital. In detail the Composite is richer than the Corinthian, but less light and delicate. Its architrave has usually only two fasciaj, and the cornice varies from the Corinthian in having double modillions. The column is ten diame- ters high. The principal examples of this order are the Temple of Bacchus at Rome, the arch of Septimius Severus, those of the Goldsmiths and of Titus, and that in the baths of Diocletian. COMPOSI'TION, in a general sense, the putting together, and uniting of sev- eral things, so as to form of the whole one mass or compound — Composition of ideas, an act of the mind, whereby it unites sev- eral ideas into one conception, or complex idea. — In literature, the act of inventing or combining ideas, furnishing them with words, arranging them in order, and com- mitting them to writing. — In logic, a method of reasoning, whereby we proceed from some general self-evident truth, to other particular and singular ones. This method of reasoning is opposed to analy- sis, which begins with first principles, and, by a train of reasoning from tljem. deduces the propositions or truths souglif ; but composition or synthesis coUiH-ts the scattered parts of knowledge, and com- bines them into a system, so tlitit the un- derstanding is enabled distinctly to follow truth through its different stages of gra- dations. — In music, the art or act of form- ing tunes, either to be performe 1 vocally or instrumentally — In commerce, an agreement entered into between an in- solvent debtor and his creditor, by which the latter accepts a part of the debt in compensation for the wliole.— In paint- ing, this word expresses the idea of a whole created out of single parts, and to this idea the whole ought to conform. In the whole there ought never to be too much or too little ; all parts must be ne- cessary, anson as were wanted. — Franco, in the beginning of the revolution, declared it the duty and honor of every citi/en to serve in the army of his country. Every French citizen was born a soldier, and obliged to serve in the army from sixteen to forty years of age : from forty to sixty he belonged to the national guard. Eve- ry year the young men of the niilitar_v age were assembleil, and distributed in the different military divisions ; and it was decided by lot who, among the able- bodied men of suitable age, should take arms. Thus it was that those prodigious masses were so quickly raised, and sent to the field of slaughter. CONSECRATION, the act of devoting and dedicating anj'thing to the service and worship of God. Among the ancient Christians, the consecration of churches was performed with a great deal of pious solemnity. In England, churches have been always consecrated with particular ceremonies, the form of which was left to the discretion of the bishop. — Consecra- tion was also a religious rite among the Romans, by vphich they set any person or thing apart for sacred purposes, as their high-priests ; or made it sacred, or a fit object of divine worship ; as the emperors, their wives, or children, who were in this manner enrolled among the number of their gods. This was sometimes called apotheosis, but on medals it is distin- guished by the word consecratio, with an altar or some other sacred svmbol. CONSEN'TIAN GODS," a term by which the Latins distinguished their twelve chief deities — Juno, Vesta, Miner- va, Ceres, Diana, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune, Vulcan, and Apollo. The origin of these deities was Italian, and distinct from those of the Greeks ; but as the literature of Rome took its tone and color from Greece, so its mythology was mixed up with that of the latter country, those deities whose functions most re- sembled each other being confounded, till the above names became regarded as nothing more than the Latin appellations of the Greek divinities. CON'SEQUENCE, that which follows as an inference of truth and reason, from admitted premises or arguments. Thus, " every rational being is accountable to his Maker ;" man is a rational being ; the consequence then must be, that man is accountable to his Maker. CONSERVATOR, an officer appointed for the security and preservation of the privileges of some cities, corporations, and communities. The ancient office of conservator of the peace is now performed 106 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITEKATL'RE [con by all judges and magistrates, but par- ticularly by what we now terra justices of the peace. CONSERVATORY, a term sometimes used for a green-house. It is, properly, a large green-house for exotics, in which the plants are planted in beds and bor- ders, and not in tubs or pots, as in the common green-house. — In various parts of Italy and France there are musical schools, called conservatories, which are expressly intended for the scientific culti- vation of musical talents, and from which many first-rate composers, as well as vo- calists, have attained their proficiency. CONSIDERA'TION, in law, the mate- rial cause or ground of a contract, with- out which the party contracting would not be bound. A consideration is either express or implied; express, when the thing to be given or done is specified ; iviplied, when no specific consideration is agreed upon, but justice requires it, and the law implies it : as when a man labors for another, without stipulating for wages, the law infers that he shall receive a rea- sonable consideration. CONSIGN'MENT of goods, in com- merce, is the delivering or making them over to another : thus, goods are said to be consigned to a factor, when they are sent to him for sale, &c. He who con- signs the goods is called the consignor : and the person to whom they are sent is the consignee. CONSIST'ENCE, orCONSIST'ENCY, that state of a body in vfhich its compo- nent parts remain fixed. Also^ congruity and uniformity in opinions and actions. CONSISTO'RIUM, in antiquity, a council-house or place of audience. CONSIS'TORY, an assembly of eccle- siastical persons; also certain spiritual courts are so called which are holdcn by the bishops in each diocese. At Rome the consistory denotes the judicial court constituted by the college of cardinals. The representative body of the reformed church in France is styled Consistory ; a title and assembly originated by Calvin. CONSIS'TORY COURT, the place or court in which the session or assembly of ecclesiastical persons is held by the bishop or his chancellor. CONSOLIDA'TIOX, in t!ie civil law, signifies the uniting the possession or profit of land with the i)ro])crty, and vice versa. In the ecclesinstical law, it is the uniting two benefices into one by assent of the ordinary, patron, and in- cumbent. CON'SOLE, in iULdiitccturc, a bracket or shouldor-piece : or an ornament cut upon the key of an arch, which has a projecture, and on occasion serves to sup- port little cornices, figures, busts, and vases. CON'SOLS, in commerce, funds forme! by the consolidation (of which word it is an abbreviation) of different annuities, which had been severally formed into a capital CON'SONANCE, in music, the agree- ment of two sounds simultaneously pro- duced, the one grave and the other acute CON'SONANT, a letter so named be cause it is considered as being sounded onlj^ in connection with a vowel. But some consonants have no sound, even when united with a vowel, and others have a very imperfect sound ; hence some are called mutes, and others sevii- voirels. CONSONAN'TE, in music, an Italian epithet for all agreeable intervals. CONSPIR'ACY, a combination of men for an evil purpose; or an agreement be- tween them to commit some crime in con- cert ; as, a conspiracy against the govern- ment. — In law, it signifies an agreement between two or more, falsely to indict, or procure to be indicted, an innocent per- son of felony. CON SPIR'ITO, in music, an Italian phrase, denoting that the part is to be played with spirit. CON STABLE, a civil officer, anciently of great dignity, as the Lord High Con- stable of England, and also the constables or keepers of castles, &c. It is now the title of an ofiBcer under the magistrates for the preservation of the peace, whose duty principally ccmsists in seizing and securing persons guilty of tumultuary of- fences. In the United States, constables are town or city officers of the peace, with powers similar to those possessed by tho constables in Hreat Britain. They are invested also with powers to execute civil as well as criminal process, and to levy executions. In New Englaml, they are elected by the inhabitants of towns in le- gal meeting. CONSTANT WHITE, Pehmanent White, a pigment prepared from the sulphate of barytes, useful in water- color painting, possessing great body. It is very poisonous. CON STAT, a certificate given out of the exchequer to a person who intends to plead or move for a discharge of any- thing in that court. The effect of it is tc show whut appears upon the rer'^cd, re- sjiertiii;^ llic matter in question. con] AND THE FINE ARTS. 107 CONSTELLA'TION, an assemblage or syslcm of several stars, expresseil or rep- resented under the name and figure of some animal or other object, as a bear, a ship, and the like ; whence they have de- rived those appellations which are conve- nient in describing the stars. The divi- sion of the heavens into constellations is very ancient, probably coeval with astron- omy itself. CONSTIT'UENT, in politics, one who by his vote constitutes or elects a member of parliament. — Constituents, in physics, the elementary or essential parts of any substance. CONSTITUTION, in politics, any form or principle of government, regu- larly constituted. Constitutions are either democratic, aristocratic, or of a mi.xed character. They are, 1. Democratic, when the fundamental law guarantees to every citizen equal rights, protection, and participation, direct or indirect, in the government, such as the constitutions of the United States of America, and of some cantons of Switzerland. 2. Aristo- cratic, when the constitution establishes privileged classes, as the nobility and clergy, and entrusts the government en- tirely to them, or allows them a very disproportionate share of it : such a con- stitution was that of Venice. 3. Of a mixed character ; to which latter division belong some monarchical constitutions, which recognize the existence of a sove- reign whose power is modified by other branches of government, of a more or less populous cast. In the United States, the constitution is paramount to the statutes or laws enacted by the legisla- ture, limiting and controlling its power; and even the legislature itself is created, and its powers designated, by the consti- tution. — Apostolic co/istitutions. an an- cient code of regulations, respecting the doctrine and discipline of the church, pre- tended by some to have been promul- gated by the apostles, and collected by Clemens Romanus. They appear to have been at one time admitted into the canon of scripture. Their authenticity has been a subject of much dispute. They have been printed together with the so-called canons of the apostles. CONSTRUCTION, in a general sense, the manner of putting together the parts of a building, or of a machine, &c. — In grammar, syntax, or the proper arrange- ment of word-i in a sentence. Also, the manner of understanding the arrange- ment of words, or of understanding facts : thus we say " let us give the author's words in a rational and consistent con- struction." CONSUA'LIA, in Roman antiquity, a festival instituted by Romulus, and dedi- cated by him to Neptune, whom he termed Consus, or the god of counsel, in conse- quence of his successful scheme on the Sabine virgins. CONSURSTAN'TIAL, in theology, an epithet signifying of the same substance : thus, in the articles of the Church of England, Christ is declared consubstan- tial, or of one substance with the Father. COXSUBSTANTIA'TION, a tenet ot' the Lutheran church, the members of which maintain that alter consecration of the sacramental elements, the body and blood of our Saviour are substantially present, together with the substance of the bread and wine, which is called con- substantiation, or impanation. CON'SUL, in the Roman common- wealth, the title of the two chief magis- trates, whose power was, in a certain de- gree, absolute, but who were chosen only for one year. The authority of the two consuls was equal ; yet the Valerian law gave the right of priority to the elder, and the Julian law to hira who had the greater number of children ; and this was generally called consul major or prior. In the first ages of Rome they were elect- ed from patrician families ; but in the year of Rome 388, the people obtained the privilege of electing one of the con- suls from their own body, and sometimes both were plebeians. — In modern usage, the name consul is given to an officer ap- pointed to reside in a foreign country, to protect the interests of trade, and to aid his government in any commercial trans- actions with such country. Such officers appear to have been first employed by the Italian republics, to protect their merchants engaged in trade in the cities of the Levant. The consuls of European states in that region, and in Africa, are at the present time officers of more im- portance than those established in the cities of Christendom : as they exercise, according to treaties, civil jurisdiction over the citizens of their respective states. In general, the consul is not regarded as a minister or diplomatic functionary, and is subject to the civil authorities of the place where he resides. — Consuls, in French history, were the persons (Bona- parte, Sieyes, and Ducos) to whom, after the dissolution of the Directory in No- vember 1799, was entrusted tlie provi- sional government of the country, and at whose suggestion it was agreed that 108 CYCLOPEDIA OF l.ITF.RATCRE J V ON France should be permanent!}' subjected to consular autliority. CON'SULARS, tlie title given to Ro- ma« citizens who had been dignified with the office of consul, and consequently were honored with a certain precedence in the senate. CONSULTA'TION, a council for de- liberation ; as, a consultation of physi- cians was called. CONTA'aiON, the propagation of spe- cific diseases from person to person. Con- tagious poisons communicate the prop- erty of producing similar poisons : the sniall-po.v is a characteristically conta- gious disease. By some writers the terra has been limited to diseases requiring actual contact for their communication ; but contagious matter appears often transmissible by the air, hence the terms immediate and mediate contagion. Where diseases are propagated through the me- dium of the air, they are generally called infectious. "CONTEMPT', in law, disobedience to the rules, orders, or process of a court of competent authority. Contempt in court is punishable by fine and imprison- ment : for contempt out of court attach- ment may be granted. CONTENTS', anything or things held, included, or comprehended within a limit or line; as, the contents of a cask or bale, the contents of a book, &c. CON'TEXT, the parts of a discourse which precede or follow the sentence quoted ; for instance, the sense of a pas- sage of Scripture is often illustrated by the context. CON'TINENT, in geography, a great extent of land, not disjoined or interrupt- ed by a sea; or a connected tract of land of great extent, as the Eastern or West- ern continent. — The contincnt(d powers, those whose territories are situated on the continent- of Europe. CONTIXKNT'AL SYSTEM, a term given to a pbm devised by Najiuleon to exclude England from all intercourse with the continent r)f Europe ; thereby to prevent tiie importation of Rritish iniinufactures and commerce, and thus to compel the English government to make peace upon the terms prescribed by the i'rench ruler. The history of Napoleon's continental system begins with the decree of licrlin of Nov. 21, ly06, by which the British islands were declared to be in a state of blockade ; all commerce, inter- course, and correspondence were prohib- ited ; every Englishman found in France, or in any country occupied by French troops, was declared a pr /?.<.' ■ i" var; all projierty belonging t/ U ,,,.'.jhmen fair prize, and all trade in £fi,7';.h goods entirely prohibited. Grei t Britain im- mediately directed reprisris against tho Berlin decree ; prohibiting all neutral vessels from sailing from one port to an- other belonging to Franco, or one of her allies, &c. This was met by counter-re- prisals ; and for a long dime a, fierce and most annoying system Tfiis carried on for the annihilation of British commerce ; the effects of which are still felt, from the rival products and manufactures on the continent to which the system gave rise. CONTIN'GENT, in politics, the pro- portion (generally of troops) furnished by one of several contracting powers in pur- suance of an agreement. CONTIN'UED BASS, in music, the same as thorough bass. It receives the name from its continuation through tho whole of a composition. CONTORNIA'TI, in numismatics, medals supposed to have been struck about the period of Constantino the Great and his immediate successors : they arc of bronze, with a flat impression, and marked with peculiar furrows. (It. con- torni, whence their name.) They bear the figures of famous emperors or cele- brated men. Their object is uncertain ; but they have been supposed to be tickets of admission to the public games of the circus in Rome and Constantinople. CON'TOUR, in tlie Fine Arts, the ex- ternal lines which bound and terminate a figure. The beauty of contour consists in those lines being flowing, lightly drawn, and sinuous. They must be carefully and scientifically drawn, which cannot bo eftectcd without a thorough knowledge of anatomy. CON'TRABAND, in commercial lan- guage, goods exported from or imported into a country against its laws. Contra- band of war, such articles as a belliger- ent has, by the law of nations, the right of i)reventing a neutral from furnishing to his enemy. Articles contraband of war are, in general, arms and munitions of war, and tliose out of which munitions of war are made ; all these are liable to be seized: but very arbitrary interpre- tations have been affixed to the term by powerful states, when able to enforce them by anus. Thus, provisions are held contraband of war when it is the object to reduce tho enemy to famine. But with respect to these and other articles not in their nature contraband, it seems oonJ AND TUK FIXE Ai:TS. 109 to be the practice that the belligerent should i)iiichaso them from the neutral for 11 reasonable equivalent, instead of confiscating. COXTKABAS'SO, the largest of the violin species of string and bowed instru- ments, whereof it forms the lowest bass, usually called the double bass. CON'TRACT, in civil law, the term usu- ally applied to such agreements, whether express or implied, as create, or are intend- ed to create, a legal right, and correspond- ing liability ; such right not attaching to the possession of the subject matter of the contract, e.xcept in equity, and that indirectly, but subsisting both in equity and law against the contracting party. CONTKADIC'TOllY PROPO- SITION, in logic, are those which having the same terms differ in quantity and in quality. Contrary propositions are two universals with the same terms, the one negative and the other affirmative. CONTRALT'O, in music, the part im- mediately below the treble ; called also the counter tenor. CON'TRAST, in the fine arts, an op- position of lines or colors to each other, so contrived that the one gives greater effect to the other. By means of contrast energy and expression are given to a subject, even when employed on inani- mate forms. All art is indeed a system of contrast : lights should contrast with shadows, figures with figures, members with members, and groups with groups. It is this which gives life, soul, and mo- tion to a composition. CON'TRATENO'RE, in music, the same as contralto. CONTRIBUTION, in a general sense, the act of giving to a common stock. In a military sense, impositions upon a country in the power of an enemy, which are levied under various pretences, and for various purposes, usually for the sup- port of the army. CONTROLLER, in law, an overseer or officer appointed to control or verify the accounts of other officers. CON'TUMACY, in law, a refusal to appear in court when legally summoned, or disobedience to its rules and orders. CONVALES'CENCE, the insensible recovery of health and strength after dis- ease. CON'VENT, a religious house, inhab- ited by a society of monks or nuns. CONVEN'TiCLE, a private assembly or meeting, for the exercise of religion ; the word \v,ia at first an ajipellation of reproach to the religious assemblies of ■WickliiTc, in the reign.s of Edward III. and Riclianl II., and is now usually ap- plied to a meeting of dissenters from the established church. — As the word conven- ticle, in strict propriety, denotes an un- lawful assembly, it cannot be justly ap- plied to the assembling of persons in places of worship, which are licensed ac- cording to the requisitions of law. CONVENTION, in law, an extraor- dinary assembly of the estates of the realm. — In military affairs, an agree- ment entered into between two bodies of troops opposed to each other ; or an agreement previous to a definitive treaty. — National convention, the name of the assembly by which the government of France was conducted during a period of the revolution. CON VER'SION, in a theological sense, that change in man by which the enmity of the heart to the laws of God, and the obstinacy of the will are subdued, and are succeeded by supreme love to God and his moral government; and a ref- ormation of life. — Conversion of a prop- osition, in logic, is a changing of the subject into the place of the predicate, and still retaining the quality of the prop- osition. CON'VERT. a person who changes his religion. Individuals, of what faith so- ever, who abandon their own creed and embrace Christianity are called converts, in contradistinction to apostates, applied generally to Christians who adopt an- other religion. CONVEY'ANCE, in law, a deed or instrument by which lands, itc, are con- veyed or made over to another. CONVEY'ANCER, one who professes to draw deeds, mortgages, and convey- ances of estates. This profession requires great knowledge of the law, and a solid and clear understanding; for on convey- ancing the security of property greatly depends. CON'VICT, in law, a person found guilty of a crime alleged against him, either by the verdict of a jury, or other legal decision. CONVICTION, the act of proving guilty of an offence charged against a person by a legal tribunal. Also, the state of being sensible of guilt ; as, by con- viction a sinner is brought to repentance. CONVIV'IUM, in antiquity, a banquet or entertainment given to a friendly party. CONVOCATION, an assembly of the clergy of England, which at present is merely nominal. Its province is stated 110 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE [cop to be the enactment of canon-law, subject to the license of the king; and the ex- amination and censuring of all heretical and schism atical books and persons; but from its judicial proceedings lies an ap- peal to the king in chancery, or his dele- gates. It is held during the session of parliament, and consists of an upper and a lower house : in the upper sit the bish- ops, and in the lower the inferior clergy, who are represented by their proctors, and all the deans and archdeacons ; in all, 143 divines. CONVOY, ships of war which accom- pany merchantmen in time of war, to protect them from the attacks of the enemy. — By land, any body of troops which accompany provision, ammunition, or other property for protection. COPE, an ecclesiastical vestment, like a cloak (which it originally was, and used to protect the wearer from the inclemency of the weather,) worn in processions, at vespers, during the celebration of mass, by some of the assistant clergy, at bene- diction, consecration, and other ecclesias- tical functions. Its form is an exact serai- circle, without sleeves, but furnished with a hood, and is fastened across the breast with a morse or clasp. Copes were orna- mented with embroidery and jewels, (ap- parells,) wrought with elaborate splendor, at a very early period. In the thirteenth century they became the most costly and magnificent of all the ecclesiastical vest- ments. CO'PECK, a small Russian coin, equal to about one farthing English. COPER'NICAN SYSTEM, that sys- tem of the universe which was anciently \.,\ught by Pythagoras, and afterwards revived by Copernicus, a Polish astron- omer. According to this system, the sun is supposed to be placed in the centre, and all the other bodies to revolve round it in a particular order; which theory is now universally adopted, under the name of the Solar System. CO'PING, in architecture, the upper covering or top course of a wall, usually of stone, and wider than the wall itself, in order to let the rain water "fall clear from the wall. COP'PER-PLATE, a plate of copper on which figures are engraven; also the impress'on taken from that jilate. — Cop- per-plate printins[, is performed by means of what is called a rolling-press. The en- graved plate is covered with ink, made of oil and Frankfort black, then cleanly wiped on the smootii parts, and laid on wet soft paper ; and on being passed be- tween two cylinders with great force, the impression of the engraved part is per feetl^' tr.insferred to the paper. COP'PICE, or COPSE, a wood of snail growth, cut at certain times, and used principally for fuel. COP'TIC, the language of the Copts, or anything pertaining to those people, who are the descendants of the ancient Egyptians, and called Coptlii or Copts, as distinct from the Arabians and other inhabitants of modern Egypt. COP'ULA, the word that connects any two terms in an aSirmative or negative proposition; as " God mac/e man ;" "Re- ligion is indispensable to happiness." COP'ULATIVE PROPOSITIONS, in logic, those where the subject and predi- cate are so linked together, by copulative conjunctions, that they may be all sever- ally affirmed or denied one of another. " Science and literature enlighten the miu'l, and greatly increase our intellec- tual enjoj'ments." COP'Y, iu law, signifies the transcript of any original writing, as the copy of a patent, charter, deed, &c. A common deed cannot be in-oved by a copy or coun- terpart, where the original may be pro- cured. But if the deed be enrolled, cer- tifying an attested copy is proof of the enrolment, such copy may be given in evidence. — Copy, among printers, denotes the manuscript or original of a book, giv- en to be printed. Also, when we speak of a book, or a set of books, wo say a copij ; as, a copy of the Scriptures, a copy of Sir AV'^alter Scott's works, «£c. — Copy, in the fine arts, is a multiplication or re- production of a work, whether painting, statue, or engraving, by another hand than the original. If a master copies his own picture, we call it merelj' a repeti- tion, which the French designate by the term doublette. Copies are of three kinds ; the most general are those in which the copyist imitates the original with anxious exactitude; in this case the ditficulty of copying is but slight. The secon THE FINE ARTS. 11; tributing his quota of goods or money, and deriving his quota of profit. But the term »oon acquired a more extended significution, in whicli, however, the ori- ginal meaning is still perceptible, it be- ing applied to any exclusive society in which interesting subjects (chiefly liter- ary and political) are discussecl, each member being supposed to contribute his quota or share for the general editication or amusement. COTHUR'NUS, in antiquity, a kind of high shoes, laced high, such as Diana and her nj'mphs are represented as wear- ing. The tragic actors also wore them, in order to give additional height to those who personated heroes ; the cothur- nus used for this purpose differing from the one used in hunting by its having a sole of cork at least four fingers thick. COUCH, in painting, a term used for each lay or impression of color, either in oil or water, covering the canvas, wall, or other matter to be painted. Gilders use the term couch, for gold or silver lace laid on metals in gilding or silvering. COUN'CIL, in national affairs, an as- sembly of persons for the purpose of con- certing measures of state. In England, that is called the Privy Council, where- in the sovereign and privy councillors meet in the palace to deliberate on affairs of state When the council is composed only of cabinet ministers, it is called a Cabinet Council. — Council of war, an assembly of the principal officers of a fleet or army, called by the admiral or general to concert measures for requisite operations. COUN'SEL, in law, any counsellor or advocate, or any number of counsellors or barristers ; as, the plaintiff's or defend- ant's counsel. COUNT, a title of nobility, equivalent to an English earl. — In law, a particular charge in an indictment, or narration in pleading, setting forth the cause of com- plaint. There may be different counts in the same declaration. COUN'TENANCE, the whole form of the face, or system of features. This word has many figurative applications : thus, by the light of GocVs countenance, we mean grace and favor : so the rebuke of his countenance indicates his anger. — - To keep the countenance is to preserve a calm, natural, and composed look. — To keep in countenance, to give assurance to one, or protect him from shame. — To put out of countenance, to intimidate and dis- concert. COUN'TEK, a term which enters into the composition of many words j{ our lan- guage, and generally implies opposition. COUNTEK-APPROACH'ES, in forti- fication, linos and trenches made by the besieged, in order to attack the works of the besiegers, or to hinder their ap- proaches. COUN'TER-DEED, a secret writing either before a notary or under a private seal, which destroys, invalidates, or alters a public one. COUN'TERDRAWING, in painting, copying a design, or painting by means of lines drawn on oiled paper, or other trans])arent substance. COUN'TERFEIT, that which is made in imitation of something, but without lawful authority, and with a view to de- fraud by passing the false for the true. Thus we say, counterfeit coin, a counter- feit bond, deed, &c. COUN'TERGUARD, in fortification, a small rampart or work raised before the point of a bastion, consisting of two long faces parallel to the faces of the bastion, making a salient angle to preserve the bastion. COUN'TERMARK, a mark put upon goods that have been marked before. It is also used for the several marks put upon goods belonging to several persons, to show that they must not be opened but in the presence of all the owners or their agents. — The mark of the gold- smith's company, to show the metal t'o be standard, added to that of the artificer. COUN'TERMINE, in military affairs, a well and gallery sunk in the earth and running umlerground, to meet and defeat the effect of the enemy's mine ; or, in other words, a mine made by the besieg- ed, in order to blow up the mine of the besiegers. COUN'TERPART, the correspondent part or duplicate. Also, the part which fits another, as the kej' of a cipher. — In music, the part to be applied to another; as, the bass is the counterpart to the treble. COUN'TERPOINT, in music, the art of combining and modulating consonant sounds ; or of disposing several parts in such a manner as to make an agreeable whole of a concert.. COUN'TERPROOF, is an engraving taken off from another fresh printed, which, by being passed through the roll- ing press, gives an inverted figure of the former. COUNTER-REVOLU'TION, a revolu- tion opposed to a former one, and restor- ing a former state of things. COUNTERSCARP, iu fortification, 116 CYCLOI'EDIA OF LITEKATIRE [coc that side of the ditch which is next the camp, and faces the bodj' of the place ; but it often signifies the whole covered way, with its parapet and glacis. COUNTER-SECURITY, security giv- en to one who has entered into a bond, or become surety for another. COUX'TERSIGN, a military watch- word ; or a private signal given to sol- diers on guard, with orders to let no man pass unless he first names that sign. — Also, to sign, as secretary or other sub- ordinate officer, any writing signed by a principal or superior, to attest the au- thenticity of his signature. COUN'TER-TEN'OR, in music, one of the middle parts between the treble and the tenor. COUNT'IXG-HOUSE, the house or room appropriated by merchants, traders, and manufacturers, for the business of keeping their books, &c. COUN'TRY, any tract of inhabited land, or any region as distinguished from other regions; any state or territory; and also any district in the vicinity of a city or town. Thus we say. This gentle- man has a seat in the country ; America is my native country; the countries of Europe, Asia, &c. COUN'TY, ori^-inally, the district or territory of a count or earl : one of the ancient divisions of England, wiiieh by the Saxons were called shires. England is divided into forty counties or shires, Wales into twelve, Scotland into thirty-three. Each county has its sheriff and its court, with other ofScers employed in the ad- ministration of justice and the execu- tion of the laws; and each lord-lieuten- ant of a county has the command of its militia — The several states of America are divided by law into counties, in each of which is a county court of inferior jurisdiction ; and in each the supreme court of the state holds stated sessions. — County-corporate, a title given to sev- eral cities or ancient boroughs (as South- ampton and Bristol,) on which certain kings of England have thought proper to bestow peculiar jirivilegcs ; annexing ter- ritory, land, or jurisdiction, and making them comities within thoinsclvos, with their own sheriffs and other ofliecrs. — County pahitine, a county distinguished by particular privileges, and named from palatio, the palace, becau.ilal, between the abacus and echinus or quarter round, whicli serves to form the volute, and is thus called because its appearance is that of a cushion or pillow seemingly collapsed by the weight over it, and bound with a strap or girdle called the baltheus. COVE, an inlet on a rocky coast. It is a term nearly synonymous with har- bor ; the word cove being generally, though not always, used when the inden- tation on the coast is too shallow or nar- row to admit first class vessels. COVENANT, in history, the famous bond of association adopted by the Scot- tish Presbyterians in 1638. It was framed on the model of a similar declaration, which had been twice solemnly subscribed in the early period of the Reformation ; but in more violent language, and with more specific obligation to support the kirk, together with a prohibition and abjuration of the Anglican liturgy and articles. The founders of the Solemn League and Covenant were Alexander Henderson, leader of the clergy, and Archibald Johnston, of Wariston. an ad- vocate. A new religious covenant be- tween the two kingdoms was framed in 1643, and taken by the English House of Commons and assembly of divines at Westminster. Charles II. subscribed the Scottish covenant on his coronation in 1651 ; but on his restoration it was de- clared null by act of parliament, and burned by the common hangman. It. formed, however, the watchword and bonil of union of the discontented party, or Covenanters, as they were called, in the rebellions of his reign. — Covenant, in a theological sense, a promise made by God to man upon certain conditions ; the two grand distinctions of which are emphatically designated the Old and New Covenant, or Testament ; in each of which certain temporal or spiritual benefits are promised to man upon the performance of duties therein pointed out. — Covenant, in law, is an engage- ment under seal to do or to omit a direct act. Covenants are of many different species, as in fact and in law, implied and express. &c. ; and according to their subject matter, or express stipulation, they are binding respectively on the heirs, executors, and assigns, or execu- tors and assigns only, of the covenantor.- - Covenant is also a form of action, which 118 OyCLOPF.niA OF LITERATURE [CBK lies where a partj' chiinis; damiiges for breach of a covenant or contract under seal. COWL, the hoods which protect both head and neck from the cold. St. Basil and St. Anthony cotnman lei their monks to wear them, and latterly they have come into use by travellers, sailors, and huntsmen. COWRIES, small shells brought from the Maldives, which pass current as coin in smaller payments in Ilindostan, and throughout e.Ktensive districts in Africa. CRANIOL'OGY, the science which in- vestigates the structure and uses of the skulls in various animals, particularly in relation to their specific character and intellectual powers. One who is versed in this science is termed a craniologlst. CRANIOM'ETER, an instrument for measuring the skulls of animals. The art of measuring them for the purpose of discovering their specific differences, is called craniometry . CRANIOS'COPY, the science of dis- covering, by the eminences produced by the brain on the cranium, the particular parts in which reside the organs that influence certain passions or faculties. CRA'NIUM, the skull ; the assemblage of bones which enclose the brain. CRA'TER, the aperture or mouth of a volcano, from which the fire issues. — In antiquity, a very large wine cup, or gob- let, out of which the ancients poured their lib.ations at feasts. CRAY'ON, a general name for all colored mineral substances, used in de- signing or painting in pastil; whether they have been beaten and reduced to a paste, or are used in their primitive con- sistence, after sawing and cutting them into long narrow slips. CREATION, the act of causing to exist, or of shaping and organizing mat- ter so as to form new beings ; as the creation of man and other animals, of plants, minerals, Ac. — Also, the act of investing with a new character ; as, the creation of peers by the sovereign. CRKDEX'DA, in theology, things to be Ixdieved; articles of faith; distin- guishoil from at^enda, or practical duties. (MIEDEN'TIALS, that which gives a title or claim to confidence ; as the let- ter.? of commendation and power given to an anib.assador, or public minister, by the prince that semis him to a foreign court. CRED'IT, in political economy, is a term used to express the lending of wealth, or of the means of acquiring wealth, by one in- lished in most literary countries. CRITIQUE', a skilful examination of the raeritsof a performance, with remarks on its beauties and faults. CllOCKETTS, enrichments modelled generally from vegetable pro- ductions, such as vine or other leaves, but some- times animals and images are introduced, em- ployed in gothic architecture to decorate the angles of various parts of ecclesiastical edifices, such as spires, pin- nacles, muUions of windows, Ac. The forms are infinite, almost every kind of loaf or flower being employed fortius jiur- poso, generally with some pointed refei^ ence to local circumstances; thus, at Westminster we find a succession of roses and fiomegranates ; at Magdalen College Chapel, lilies. They only appear in py- Clio] AND Till-: KINK ARTS. 121 ramidical and curved linos, never in hori- Eontnl. CROrSE.S, in English anti(inity, pil- griias bound for the Holy Land, or such as had been there ; so called from a badge they wore in imitation of a cross. Tlie knights of St. John of Jerusalem, created for the defence and protection of pilgrim.s, were particularly called croises ; and so were all those of the English nobility and gentry, who, in the reigns of Henry 11. Richard I. Jlenry HI. and Edward I. were cruce slgnati, that is, devoted for the recovery of Palestine. CROM'LBCH, in British antiquity, large, broad, flat stones raised upon other stones set up to support them. They are common in Anglesea, and are supposed to be remains of druidical altars. Cromlechs ore generally supposed by anti(iuaries to have been constructed to serve as altars. According to some, there is a difference between the cromlechs of the Britons and those of nations of Uermanic descent ; the former being inclined stones, perhaps for the purpose of allowing the blood shed in sacrifice to run off; the latter thick, round stones, standing on small hillocks and covering caves. CRO'SIER, the staff of an archbishop, surmounted by a cross, and thereby dis- tinguished from the pastoral staff or crook of a bishop This staff, according to Polydorc Virgil, was given to bishops wherewith to chastise the vices of the peo- ple ; and was called baculiis pastoralis, in respect of their pastoral charge and su- perintendence over their flock, as well as from its resemblance to the shepherd's crook. Many an- 1 thors contend that the crosier is derived from the lltuus or augural staff of the Romans. CROSS, in antiquily, an instru- ment of ancient vengeance, con- sisting of two pieces of timber, crossing each other, either in the form of a T or an X. That on which our Saviour suffered, is represented on coins and other monuments to have been of the former kind. This punishment was only inflicted on malefactors and slaves, and was thence called ser- vile supplicium. The most usual method was to nail the criminal's hands and feet to this gibbet, in an erect posture ; though there are instances of criminals so nail- ed with their head downward. — Crons, the ensign of the Christian religion ; and hence, figuratively, I the religion itself. Also, a monument I with a cross upon it to excite devotion, such as were anciently set up in market places. — In theology, the doctrine of Christ's sufferings and of the atonement. — Cross, in Christian Art, the sole and universal symbol of our redemption, and of the person of our Saviour ; he is sym- bolized under this form, as he is also under that of the Fish, the Lion, or the Lamb. The cross is either historic or sj'mbolic, real or ideal ; in the one it is a gibbet, in the other an attribute of glory. There are four species of cross. 1. The cross without a summit, in the form of a T ; this is the Egyptian cross, the Cross of the Old Testament. Many ancient churches, especially the Basili- cas of Constantine, £t. Peter and St. Paul at Rome, are, in their ground plan, near- ly of this form. 2. The cross with sum- mit ; it has four branches; this is the true cross, the cross of Jesus and of the Evangelists. This form of cross is divided into two principal types, which also par- take of many varieties ; they are known as the Greek and the Latin cross ; the first is adopted by the Greek and Oriental Christians, the second by the Christians of the West. The Greek cross is com- posed of four equal parts, the breadtli being equal to the length. In the Latin cross, the foot is longer than the summit or the arms. The Greek cross is an ideal cross ; the Latin cross resembles the real cross upon which Jesus suffered. 3. The cross with two cross-pieces and summit. 122 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITEIlAl LKK [CRO 4. The cross with summit and three cross- pieces. AVhen the cross retains its sim- ple form, and is not loaded with attri- butes or ornaments, we must distinguish the Cross of the Passion from the Cross of the Resurrection. The Cross of the Passion is a real cross, the gibbet upon which Christ suffered. This is the cross in common use in our churches ; it is employed by painters and sculptors ; and which, in Catholic countries, meets us at every turn ; by the roadside, in the street, chapels, and cathedrals. It is also called the Triumphal Cross. The Cross of the Resurrection is the symbol of the true cross ; it is that put into the hands of Christ in representations of bis resur- rection. It is a lance, the staff of which terminates in a cross instead of a pike ; it carries a flag or banner, upon which is depicted a cross, which is suspended from the point of intersection of the arms. It is the cross held by the Paschal Lamb ; it is that carried at the head of religious processions. It is not a tree, like the Cross of the Passion, but a staff; the first is the Cross of Suffering, the other is the Cross of Victory ; they are of the same general form, but the latter is spiritualized ; it is the gibbet trans- figured. CRO.SS-BOW, an ancient weapon, a great improvement on the wooden long- bow, and brought to Europe by the Crusa- ders. It was made of steel, with a pe- culiar handle, and the string was stretch- ed b}' means of a small wheel called a gaffle. The bolts or arrows were gener- ally shod with iron, and were either round, angular, or pointed. Burning materials were also discharged from the bow, in order to set fire to buildings and machines of war. Those bows made wholly of iron were called ballisters. The share which Art had in the cross- bows of the middle ages may be seen by a glance into the armories. The most artistic specimen is the bow which Charles V. used for his amusement. It was in- laid with ivory carved by Albert Durer. CROSS-RAR-SIIOT, a bullet with an iron bar passing through it, and standing out a few inches on each side ; used in naval actions for cutting the enemy's rigging. CROSS'ES, Stone, in architectural antiquities, are of various descriptions, according to the occasion or purpose of their erection. They are saiil to have originated in the ]jractice of marking the Druid stones with a cross, at the period of the conversion of the Celtic tribes to w trames ; called ^ ^ jars, elbows, an- r-^^ — "^ 7 — -j-^ prothyrides. In \ \ \ / / / ecturaJ construe- ^— ^ — — — ^^ Christianity. Preaching crosses are gen- erally quadrangular or hexagonal, open on one or both sides, and raised on steps. They wore used for the delivery of ser- mons in the open air ; such Wiis the famous Paul's Cross in London. Market crosses are well known. Weeping crosses were so called because penances were finished before them. Crosses oj' memo- rial were raised on various occasions • sometimes where the bier of an eminent person stopped on its way to burial, in attestation of some miracle performed on the spot : such are the well-known crossew of Queen Philippa. Crosses served also as landmarks ; they are especially set up for this purpose on the lands of the Templars and Hospitallers. CROSSET'TES, in architecture, tho returns on the corners of door cases or window frames ; called also ears, elbows, cones architectural const tion, they are the small projecting pieces in arch stones which hang upon the adja- cent stones — a, a, a, a. CROSS-EXAMIXATIOX, in law, a close and rigid examination of a witness by the counsel of the adverse party, con- sisting of cross questions, in order to elicit the truth. CROTALUM, an ancient kind of Cas- tanet, used by the Corybantes or priests of Cybele. This instrument must not be confounded with the modern crotalo, & musical instrument used chiefly by the Turks, and corresponding exactly with the ancient cymbalum. CROTCH'ET, in music, half a minim. — In printing, this mark, [ ], to separate what is not the necessary part of a sen- tence. CROWX, an ornamental badge of re- gal power, worn on the head by sover- eign j)rinces. — The top of the head ; also the top of any elevated object — In archi- tecture, the uppermost member of a cor- nice. — Among jewellers, tho upper work of the rose diamond. — An English silver coin, of the value of five shillings. — Among the various crowns and wreaths in use among the Greeks and Romans were the following: Corona aiirca (the goiden crown;) the reward of remarkable bravery. Corona cast r ens is ; given to him who first entered the camp of an en- emy. Corona civica; one of the highest military rewards : it was given to him who saved the life of a citizen. Corona convivialis ; the wreath worn at feasts. Corona muralis ; given by the general CRC] AM) TIIF. FINK AIMS. 123 tothesolJier wlio first scaluil tlie cnoiuys wall. Corona navalis ; given to liiui who first boardt'il iiml took an enemy's vessel ; it was next in rank to the civic crown. Corona nitptictlis; a crown or wreath worn by briUcs. Corona obsid- ionalis; a reward given to him who de- livered a besieged town, or a blockaded army. It was one of the highest military honors, and very seldom obtained. Co- rona triumphal is ; a wreath of laurel which was given by the army to the ini- perator, who wore it on his hoad at the celebration of his triumph. — In Christian Art, the crown, from the earliest times, i.s either an attribute or an emblem. It has been employed as an emblem of victory, and hence became the especial symbol of the glory of martyrdom. Its form varied at different periods ; in early pictures it ia simply a wreath of palm or myrtle, 4 afterwards it became a coronet of gold and jewels. Generally, the female mar- tyrs only wear the sj'mbolical crown of glory on their heads. Martyrs of the opposite sex bear it in their hands, or it is carried by an angel. >Sometimes, as in St. Catherine and St. Ursula, the crown is both the symbol of martyrdom, and their attribute as royal princesses. The Virgin, as ' Queen of Heaven,' wears a crown. No. 1, in our cut, represents the Laurel Crown of ancient Rome. No. 2, the Mural Crown worn by Cybelc. No. 3, the radiated Crown of its ordinary form. No. 4, the square Saxon Crown. No. 5, the Crown of Edgar. No. 6, the Crown of William the Conqueror. No. 7, the imperial Crown of Germany. No. 8, that worn by Charlemagne. CROWN-WOKK, in fortification, an out-work running into the field, consist- ing of two demi-bastions at the extremes, and an entire bastion in the middle, with curtains. It is designed to gain some advantageous post, and cover the other works. CRU'CIFIX, the representation of the Saviour on the cross, but especially that plastic one seen on the altars of Catholic churches, in the centre of which it stands, overtopping the tapers, and only remov- ed at the elevation of the Host. Its in- tention was to lead the mind back to the cross, which was set up on the altar, or in some convenient spot. It was first known in the time of Constantinc, and takes the place of the real crucifix in the Eastern church. The latter was not com- mon till the end of the eighth century. The Greek church never publicly accept- ed it, although it appears in the quarrel about images, but used the simple cross. It was not general in the Latin church until the Carlovingian era. From the disciplina arcani and the early prohibi- tion of images by the Synod of Elvira, (305,) an early use of the crucifix may be supposed, as it referred immediately to the first Christian dogma. At first the simple cross was sufficient — crux immissa or cap ilata +; crux decussuta X >' EiMUR'RAGE, in commerce, an al- lowimce made tc) the master of a ship by ll:e mereliants, for staying in a port long- er th.ui the time first appointed. DEML'Pi'RER, in law, a pause or stop put to any action Hpon some point of difficulty which must be determined by the court before any further proceedings can be had in the suit. A demurrer con- fesses the fact or facts to be true, but de- nies the sufficiency of the facts in point of law to support the claim or defence Demurrers are either general, where no particular cause is shown, or special, where the causes of demurrer are set forth. DEMY', the name of paper of a par- ticular size, of which great quantities are used for printing books on. DENA'RIUS, in Roman antiquity, the chief silver coin among the Romans, worth 8 pence. As a weight, it was the seventh part of a Roman ounce. — De- narius Dei, God's Pennj', or earnest money given and received by the parties to contracts. It was so called because in ancisnt times it was given to the church or to the poor. DENDROPlfO'RIA, in antiquity, the carrying of boughs or branches of trees ; a religious ceremony so called, because certain priests called from thence deii- drophori, or tree-bearers, marched in procession, carr_ying the branches of trees in their hands in honor of Baccnu.s, Cy- bele, Sylvanus, or any other god. DEN'IZEX, in England, an alien who is made a subject by ro3'al letters patent, holding a midille state between an alien and a natural born subject. He may purchase and possess lands, and enjoy any office or dignit-y ; yet it is short of naturalization ; for a stranger, when naturalized, may inherit laner discre- tionary power for the exercise of lenity in cases where the motive? to the crin'.a mavbear the most favorable construction. DESIBERA'TUM, is used to signify somt thing wanted to improve or perfect any art or science, or to promote tiie ad- vancement of any object or study wlvit- soever. The longitude is a desideratum in navigation. A tribunal to settle na- tional disputes without war is a great desideratum. DESIGN', in a general sense, Kie plan, order, representation, or construction of a building, sus, Abyclos, lleraclea, Aulis, Ero- tria, Samos, Buhastus in Egypt, Delo.s (whence she was termed Delia,) and Mount Aventino at Home. But of all her temples, that at Ephesus was the most celebrated. It was erected at the joint expense of all the states of Asia; and according to the accounts of ancient authors, it must have surpassed in splen- dor all the structures of antiquitj', and fully deserved to be regarded as one of the wonders of the world. A small statue of the goddess, or, as she was termed by her votaries, the ■' Great Diana of the Ephesians," which was commonly sup- posed to have been sent from heaven, was here enshrined and adorned with all that wealth and genius could contribute. The fate of this temple is well known. On the day that Alexander the Great was born, it was set on fire by Eratostratus, from a morbid desire to transmit his name even with infamy to posterity. This edifice was afterwards rebuilt on a plan of simi- lar magnificence ; and it remained in .full possession of its wealth and reputation till the year 260, a.d., when it was complete- ly destroyed during an invasion of the Goths. DIANQS'A, in rhetoric, a figure of speech by which a correct interpretation is given to a subject suitable to the occa- sion. DIAPA'SON, in music, a musical in- terval, by which most authors, who have written upon the theory of music, use to express the octave of the Greeks. The diapason is the first and most perfect of the concords ; if considered simply, it is but one harmonical interval ; though, if consiilered diatonically, by tones and semitones, it contains seven degrees, viz., the three greater tones, two lesser tones, and two greater semi-tones. — Diapason the fundamental or standard scale b5 which musical instruments are made. DIAPEXTE, in music, a fifth; an in- terval making the second of the concords and with the diatessaron, an octave. DI'APER, Di.\pER Work, a kind of ornamental decoraticm applied to plain surfaces, in which the pattern of flowers or arabesques are either carved or paint- ed. When they are carved, the pattern is sunk entirely below the general sur- face ; when ])ainted they are generally of a darker shade of the same color as the plain surface. The patterns are usually square, and placed close togetier, but 150 CYCl.OI'EDIV OF LITERATURE DIO Kici-, IWIK XM othei' floriated forms are sometimes met with. DIAPII'ANOUS, an appellation given to all transparent bodies, or such as trans- mit the rays of light. DIAPIlb'RA, in rhetoric, a figure of speech, in which a word, when repeated, is taken in a different sense from what it was at first understood. DIAPORE'SIS, in rhetoric, a figure of oratory, e.xpressive of the speaker's doubt or hesitation as to the manner in which he should proceed in his discourse, the subjects he has to treat of being all equal- ly important. DI'ARY, signifies properly a note-book or register of daily occurrences, in which the writer has a principal share, or which have come under his own observation, or have happened in his own time. The term diary is eqTiivalent to the French journal, the Italian diario and giornale, and the German T'agebuc/i. DI'ASCHISM, in music, the difference between the comma and enharmonic die- sis, commonly called the lesser comma. DIA'SIA. in Grecian antiquity, a fes- tival kept at Athens in honor of Jupiter the Propitious. DIASTAL'TIC, an epithet given by the Greeks to certain intervals in music, as the major third, major si.vth, and ma- jor seventh. DIAS'TEMA, in rhetoric, a modula- tion of the tones of the voice, by marking with precision the intervals between its elevation and depression. — In music, a space or interval. IHAS'TOLE. in grammar, a figure of prosody, by which a syllable naturally short is made long. DI'ASTYLE, an edifice in which three diameters of :i column are allowed for the intercohiMiniiitions. DIA.-JYR'MO.S, in rhetoric, a kind of hyporbolo, being an exaggeration of some- thing low and ridiculous ; ironical praise. DIATES'SARON, in music, a concord or harmonic interval composed of a great- er tone, a lesser tone, and one greater semitone. Its proportion is as 4 to 3, and it is called a perfect fourth. — In the- ology, the four Gospels. 1)IA'T0XI, in ancient architecture, the angle stones of a wall, which were wrought on two faces, and which, from stretching beyond the stones above and below them, made a good bond or tyo to the work. DIATON'IC, an epithet given to mu- sic, as it proceeds by tones and semi- tones, both ascending and descending. Thus we say, a diatonic series; a diatonic interval ; diatonic melody or harmony. DI'ATRIBE, a continued disputation or controversial discourse. DIAZENET'IC, in the ancient Greek music, a term applied to the tone dis- jointing two fourths, one on each side of it, and which joined to either made a fifth. DIAZO'MA, in ancient architecture, the landings or resting places which en- circled the amphitheatre at different heights, like so many bands or cinctures ; whence the name. DI'CAST, in ancient Greece, an oflBcer answering nearly to our juryman. DICASTE'Ri'UM, in ancient arehitci- ture, the name of a tribunal or hall of justice in Athens. DICE, cubical pieces of bone or ivory, dotted on their face from one to si.x ; and used for gambling purposes. They are said to be of great antiquity, and to have been invented by Palamedes at the siege of Troy, for the amusement of the officers and soldiers. DICTA'TOR, in ancient Rome, a ma- gistrate created in times of exigence and distress, and invested with unlimited power. He had authority to raise or dis- band troops, and to make war or peace, and that without the consent either of the senate or people. The ordinary du- ration of his office was only for si.-s months, during which time all other ma- gistracies cease, the tribuneship excepted. Whenever he appeared in public, he was attended by twenty-four lictors, or double the number allowed a consul. Extensive, however, as his power was, he was never- theless under some restrictions : he could not, for instance, spend the public money arbitrarily, leave Italy, or enter the city on horseback. The choice of dictator was not, as in the case of other magistrates, decided by the j)opular voice, but one of the consuls appointed him by command die]" AND THE FINE ARTS. 151 of the senate. A dictator was also some- times named for holding the comitia for the election of consuls, and for the cele- bration of public games. For the space of four hundred years this otEco was re- garded with veneration, till .Sylla and Caesar, by becoming perpetual dictators, converted il into an engine of tyranny, and rendered the very name odious. DICTIONARY, in its first and most obvious sense, signifies a vocabulary, or alphabetical arrangement of the words in a language, with their definitions. But now. that the various branches of science have become so much e.xt ended, the terra is also applied to an alphabeti- cal collection of the terms of any art or science, with such explanations or re- marks as the writer may deem necessary for their elucidation. DICTUM, a word used in common parlance to signify the arbitrament or award of a judge. DICTYOTIIE'TON, in ancient archi- tecture, masonry worked in courses like the meshes of a net. Also open lattice work for admitting light and air. DIDACTIC, in the schools, signifies every species of writing, whether in verse or prose, whose object is to teach or e.x- plain the rules or principles of any art or science. Thus to this class of literature belong the writings of Aristotle on gram- mar, poetry, and rhetoric ; Longinus's Treatise on the Sublime ; and the Instila- tions of Quintilian, &c. But the term has been borrowed from scholastic phrase- ology, and appropriated more exclusively to all poetical writings devoted to the communication of instruction on a par- ticular subject, or of a reflective or ethi- cal character, thence called didactic po- etry. Among the most celebrate I poems of this species may be reckoned in ancient times that of Lucretius, De Rerum Na- tura, in which the Epicurean system of philosophy is explained ; Virgil's Geor- gics, which has almost always served as a model to the didactic poets of succeed- ing ages; and Horace's ylr< of Poetry ; ami in more recent times Pope's Essays on Criticism and Man ; Du Fresnoy's Art of Painting ; Vida and Boileau's Ar,' of Poetry ; Akenside's Pleasures of the Imagination; Armstrong's Art of pre- serving Health; Somerville's Chace ; Dyer's Fleece; Young's Universal Pas- sion, &c. DIDASCA'LIA, a term in use among the Greek writers of antiquity, and till within the la*t century among almost all the nations of modern Europe, applied to the representation of dramatic pieces, or to critical notices of the stage, and of every thing appertaining thereto. DIDO'RON, in ancient architecture, a brick whose length was on° foot, and its breadth one half its length. DIE, a stamp used in coining, by which a piece of prepared metal is impressed with due force. Coins are generally com- pleted by one blow of the coining-press. The engraver selects a forged plug of the best cast steel of proper dimensions for hia intended work, and having carefully an- nealed it, and turned its surfaces smooth in the lathe, proceeds to engrave upon it the intended device for the coin. When this is perfect the letters are put in, and the circularity and size duly adjusted ; it is then hardened, ami is ternjed a matrix. Another plug of soft steel is now selected ; and the matrix being carefully adjusted upon it, they are placed under a very powerful fly-press, and two or three blows so directed as to commence an impression of the matrix upon the plug; this is then annealed, and the operation repeated till the plug receives a perfect impression of the work upon the matrix. This impres- sion is of course in relief the original work upon the matrix being indented, and produces what is termed the punch. This, being duly shaped in the lathe, is hardened, and is employed in the pro- duction of impressions in soft steel or dies, which, being properly turned and hardened, are exact facsimiles of the original matrix, and are used in the pro- cess of coinage. AVhen a pair of dies are made of good steel duly hardened and tempered, and are carefully used, they will sometimes yield from two to three hundred thousand impressions before they become so far worn or injured as to re- quire to be removed from the coining presses. DI'E.?, (days,) in law, are distinguished into dies juridici, days on which the court sits for the administration of justice; dies non juridici, days on which no pleas are held in any court of justice ; and dies datus, a day or time of respite, given by the court to a defendant in the cause. — Dies caniculares. in astronomy, the dog-days. — Dies crilici, in medicine, days in which some diseases are supposed to arrive at a crisis. — Among the Ro- mans, days were distinguished in a va- riety of waj's ; the most important of which were dies nefa.'>ti or dies atri, days devoted to religious purposes, on which it was unlawful to do any publio business : dies fasti, similar to the dies 152 CYCLOPEDIA OF Li; F.I! A'; IKE [nia juridici of modern times ; and dies [feriati, like our dies non juridici^ when the courts were shut. DIE'SIS, the mark :j: ; called also a double-dagger, and used as a mark for reference. — Diesis, in music, the division of a tone less than a semi-tone ; or an interval consisting of a less or imperfect osite the 7th : after which A returns to the 8th, and so on through the 365 days of the year. Now if one of the days of the week, Sunday, for example, falls opposite to E, Monday will be opposite F, Tuesday G, Wednesday A, and so on ; and every Sunday through the year will bo repre- sented by the same letter E, every Mon- day by F, and so on. The letter which represents Sunday is called the Domini- cal Letter, or Sunday Letter. As the number of days in the week and the number in the j-car are prime to each other, two successive years cannot begin with the same day ; hence the Dominical Letter changes every year. This mode of representing the days of the week has now fallen nearly into desuetuvle, and the initial letter of the name of the day is placed in our almanacs opposite the day of the month. DOMIN'ICANS, called also Predi- cants, or Preaching Friars, an order of monks, founded by St. Dominie, a native of Spain, in 1215. The design of their institution was, to preach the gospel, convert heretics, defend the faith, and propagate Christianity. They embraced the rule of St. Augustine, to which they added statutes and constitutions, which had formerly been observed either by the Carthusians or Pra?monstratenses. The principal articles enjoined perpetual silence, abstinence from flesh at all times, wearing of woollen, rigorous poverty, and several other austerities. In France they were called Jacobins, because the first convent in Paris was in the Rue St. Jaques. The Dominican Nuns, who were established at the same time, follow similar rules. — A third establishment of St. Dominic was the military order of Christ, originallj' composed of knights and noblemen, whoso duty it was to wage war against heretics. After the dear.h of the founder, this became the order of the penitence of St. Dominic, for both sexes, and constituted the third order of Dominicans. These became extremely influential ; and numbered among their fraternity some of the most dintinguishod scholars, such as Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas. In course of time they were superseded in the schools and courts by the Jesuits ; and the order at present flourishes only in Spain, Portugal, Sicily, and South America. DOMiN'IONS, in Christian Art, an order of celeslial spirits disposing of the oflice of angels ; their ensign is a scep- tre. DOM'INO, a long loose cloak of black silk, furnished with a hood removable at pleasure, and worn chiefly at masque- AM) TIIK FINE AKTS. 165 rades by j.ersons of both sexes by way of general disiruiso. DOMINl'S, in tlic civil biw, siT^nities one who pussesses anything by right of jiurchii.se, gii't, U)an, legacy, inheritance, payment, contract, or sentence. — Domi- mts, in the feudal law, one who grants a part of his estate in fee to be enjoyed by another. DO'MO REPARAN'DO, a writ which lies for a person against his neighbor, Tvhose house he fears will fall, to the iamage of his own. DOX, a Spanish and Portuguese title, which the king, the princes of the blood, and the highest class of the nobility pre- fi.Y to their names. The ladies of rank have the predicate donna. The title was originally equivalent to that of knight. BONA'TIOX, in law, the act or con- tract by which a person transfers to another either the property or the use of something, as a free gift. In order to be valid, it supposes a capacity both in the donor and donee, and requires con- sent, acceptance, and delivery. D ' N A T I S T S, a religious faction, which arose in Africa in the beginning of the 4th century in oposition toCecilianus, bishop of Carthage. The Numidian bish- ops were indignant at a slight received from him at the time of his consecration, and declared him informally appointed, on account of their absence from the cer- emony. They also accused him of un- worthy conduct during the Diocletian persecution. There are two persons of the name of Donatus celebrated as lead- ers of this party. DO'NATIVE, in the canon law, a ben- efice given by the patron to a priest, with- out presentation to the ordinary, and without institution or induction. — Dona- tive, among the Romans, was properly a gift made to the soldiers, as congiarium was that made to the people. DON'JON. in fortification, signifies a strong tower, or redoubt, into which the garrison of an ancient fortress might re- treat, in case of necessitj', and capitulate with greater advantage. DO'NOR, a term of the middle ages, applied to the giver and founder of a work of Art for religious purposes, viz., the giver of a church picture, statue, or painted window, Jkc, the founder of a church, or an altar. If the gifJwere a picture, the portraits of the donor and his wife were introduced ; the former, attended by his sons, kneels on one side of the Madonna, who is either standing or enthroned, while on the other side are -his wife and daughters, all with hands raised, as if in prayer. Royal founders of churches, whose jjortrait-statues . are placciT in or on the buildings they have founded, boar in their hands the titular saint and a model of the church, which latter is also found in the monuments of such donors. DOOM, the old name for the Last Judg- ment, which impressive subject was usu- ally painted over the chancel arcli in pa- rochial churches. In the reign of Edward VI. these edifying representations were effaced, or washed over, as superstitious. DOR'IC, an epithet for anything be- longing to the Dorians, an ancient people of Greece. The Doric dialect was broad and rough, yet there was something ven- erable and dignified in its antique style ; for which reason it was often made use of in solemn odes, Ac. — The Doric order of architecture is the second of the five or- ders, being that between the Tuscan and Ionic. It is distinguished for simplicit;' and strength : and is used in the gates of cities and citadels, on the outside of churches, and other situations where em- bellishment is unnecessary or inappro- priate. — The Doric mode, in music, was the first of the authentic modes of the an- cients ; and grave rather than gay. DOR' M ANT, an epithet expressive of a state of inaction or sleep. Hence we speak oi dormant animals, or such as re- main several mouths in the year appa- rently lifeless, or, at least, in utter inac- tivity. The period of long sleep goner- ally begins when the food of the animal grows scarce, and inactivity spreads over the vegetable kingdom. Instinct at this time impels the animals to seek a safe place for their period of rest. The bat hides itself in dark caves, or in walls of decayed buildings ; the hedgehog envel- ops himself in leaves, and generally con- ceals himself in fern brakes ; and the marmot buries himself in the ground. In this period we observe in the animals, iirst a decrease of animal heat ; and sec- ondly, that they breathe much slower and more uninterruptedly than at other times. The digestion is also much diminishcil; the stomach and intestines arc usually empty; and even if the animals are awakened, they do not manifest symp- toms of appetite, except in heated rooms. The causes of the dormant state of ani- mals have generally been sought in a pe- culiar construction of the organs ; but the immediate cause producing tlii.'! torpidity, is mostly, if not entirely, the cold Frogs, serpents, and lizards, kept in artificial IGG rvri.oPRniA of liteuature [dov. cold, may remain for years in this state ; hence they have been sometimes found enclosed in stones, in which they h:ive been perhaps for centuries. The other lower animals, as snails, insects, Ac, are also subject to a similar torpidity. A state of partial torpor takes place in the case of the common bear, the badger, and the racoon. The bear begins to be drowsy in November, when he is particularly fat, and retires into his den, which he has lined with moss, and where he but rarely a Willies in winter. UOR'MER, or DOR'MENT, in archi- tecture, a window made in the roof of a building. UOIiNOCK, a kind of figured linen, of stout fabric, manufactured for coarse table cloths. It derives its name from a town in Scotland, where it was first made. DOR'OTHEA, St., this saint is repre- sented with a rose-branch in her hand, a wreath of red roses on her head, the same flowers and some fruit by her side, or with an angel carrying a ba., to teach it, i. e. teach the actors to perform it. A complete representa- tion consisted of four pieces by the same author ; a triology, or three tragedies, narrating successive events in the same series of mythological tradition ; and a fourth piece, termed a satyrie drama, of which the chorus consisted of satyrs, and the mythological subject w:is treated in a manner approaching to burlesque. Chinese Drama. — Before proceeding to the dramatic art of modern Europe, de- rived as it is from that of Greece, two oriental nations may be noticed which possess a national drama of their own. In China, theatrical entertaiments form one of the most popular amusements, and theatrical writing has been cultivated from a very early period. The Chinese drama comprises pieces which we should term both tragical and historical plays, tragi-comedies, and comedies both of in- trigue and of manners; together with abundance of low, pantomimic, and farci- cal representations. In their regular drama, however, there appears to be less of what we should term connected than of successive action : many of them are, as it were, dramatized memoirs or biog- riiphies of individuals, real or fictitious; the representation of some is said to re- quire ten days. It is remarkable that, of all national dramas, the Chinese ap- pears to be the only one in which we can trace no original connection with re- ligious observance. Hindoo Drama. — The Hindoo plays which now exist are written for the most part in Sanscrit, although not a living language at the period when they were composed; mixed, however, with other dialects, which, according to Hindoo crit- ics, are respectively appropriate to dif- ferent parts of a play. They seem to have been appropriate to the entertain- ment of learned persons, and acted only on solemn occasions. They are few in number ; about sixty only are known ; some containing long mythological nar- ratives, others much complicated incident of a domestic character, in a strain of tragedy, alternnting with comedy, like the romantic drama of modern Europe. The dramatic art appears to hare flour- ITO CYCLOPEDIA OF MTKRAiTKE [ORA ished in India during a period of several ages, ending about ihe 14th or 15th cen- turies of our era. Dramatic criticism was also much cultivated; and the most minute and artificial rules are laid down by Hindoo commentators as to the con- duct of a piece, the requisite ethics, the formal arrangement, and the character which must be introduced. The Hindoo drama is so widely ditferent from the Greek or Chinese, tnat it must be re- garded, like them, as a spontaneous off- spring of national genius. Modern European Drama. — For many centuries after the downfall of the Roman empire, the dramatic art appears to have been entirely lost. Its first re- vival in the middle ages was owing to the solemnities of the church, into which dra- matic interludes were introduced in vari- ous countries of western Euroj^e, repre- senting at first events in biblical history or the lives of the saints, and afterwards intermingled with allegorical fantasies. The framers of these early pieces were monks, and the monks were the only pre- servers of classical learning; but whe- ther we can infer from these facts that the idea of these rude representations was suggested, or their details improved by classical associations, it is not easy to pronounce. At the period of the revival of literature, however, the dramatic art was called nearly at once into life in the four principal countries of western Eu- rope ; Italy. France, Spain, and Eng- land. In the two first of these countries it arose simply classical, and unmi.xed with any original conceptions, or with the sentiments and fashions of the mid- dle ages ; in the two last it partook large- ly of both, and was also immediately de- rived from the mysteries and moralities above mentioned : hence, in a historical view, arose the distinction, so elaborately explained by modern critics, between the clnssical and romantic drama. Italian Drama. — Originated in close imitation of classical models. The So- fonisba of Trissino (151.5) is not abso- lutely the oldest Italian piny, but the first which served as a model for subse- quent composers. Rucellai and many others followed in tlie same track ; Bib- bicna, Michiavel, Ariosto, as closely imi- tated the model of the Terentian comedy. The pastoral drama of the 16th century, of which Tasso and Guarini were the roost celebrated writers, furnished the first novelty in this branch of literature ; but these are rather poetical than dra- matical compositions. The true national theatre of Italy arose in the 17th century, in the musical drama (opera), to which Me- tastasio, early in the 18th, communicated all the charms of poetry; but since the period of that writer, the operatic part of the dramatic art has again been whol- ly disconnected from the literary, and the words only serve as vehicles for tho music. While the higher classes were devoted to the opera, the lower found their national amusement in the com- medie dell' arte ; comedies performed by masqued characters, which gradually be- came fi.xed in the well-known persons of Harlequin, Pantaloon, Brighella, Ac, who improvised their parts: Goldoni, in the middle of the 18th century, succeeded in establishing a regular comic drama in possession of the stage ; while his rival, Gasparo Gozzi, took up the commedie dell' arte as models, and founded upon them a series of amusing extravagances. But since the period of these two sjiirited writers comedy has fallen almost com- pletely into disrepute. At the end of the 18th century Alfieri, a bold and severe genius, produced tragedies in which the ancient classical form (with the exception of the chorus) was again reverted to, in- stead of the French imitations of it which had long been current in Italy as well as the rest of Europe; and several dramatic poets have since appeared, who adopted the same model. French Drama. — The early French tragic writers, from the beginning of the 16th century down to Corneille in the middle of the 17th, produced nothing but unsuccessful and somewhat barbarous imitations of the Greek tragedy The first pieces of this kind represented on the French stage had prologues and cho- ruses. Corneille had studied and loved the Spanish drama; and without intro- ducing much of its varied form and inci- dent, he transfused a portion of its bold- ness and romantic sentiment into the French theatre, together with a power of energetic declamation peculiarly his own. Racine, on the other hand, was a pure admirer of antiquity; but with a taste and delicacy of feeling which until his time had been very rarely found to accompany classical knowledge. The French tragedy grew up with these two great writers as models, and Boileau as its legislator. A peculiar and rigorous system of criticism was introduced, affect- ing both the form and the substance of dramatic writing; and this system be- came established in the minds of the French public, as the natural and not the AND THE FIN'K ARTS. 171 conventional rule of beauty. It would be impossible to enter into an examina- tion of the rules of the French ilrama ; suffice it to say, that thej' banished from the tragic stage all except heroic charac- ters and passion ; required perfect sim- plicity of plot, uniformity of language, and, in addition, the observance of the before-mentioned technical unities of place and time. These rules have ever since been scrupulously followed, without deviation, on the regular French stage, and many of the greatest names in dra- matic literature have voluntarily subject- ed themselves to their restraints. The French comedy, however, is infinitely more national and characteristic than the French tragedy ; it originated in that of Spain, and was carried at once to a high degree of perfection by Moliere, — reject- ing the extravagance of the Spanish drama, confining itself within certain de- finite limits governed by analogy to those established for tragedy, and retaining satire instead of adventure as its leading principle. Since that period the French comic stage has been, beyond all contra- diction, not 01 ly the best, but the model from which that of all other nations has been wholly derived. Of the present state of the French drama it is diQicult to speak with precision ; but the national or regular stage seems to be every day losing in popularity, while the attempts to establish a new one on what is termed in France the romantic model have hith- erto met with very partial sueces.s. Spanish Drama. — Spain commenced her literary career more independent of foreign aid than any other country. Her dramatic art appears to have originated as early as the 14th century ; which pro- duced satirical pieces in dialogue, and one complete dramatic romance by an unknown author {La Celestina,) in adili- tion to the mysteries and miracle plays, which were exhibited in Spain even more plentifully than elsewhere. The early Spanish comedies of the 16th century were conversations, like eclogues, be- tween shepherds and shepherdesses; with occasional interludes of negroes, clowns, and Biseayans, the favorite subjects of popular jest. But the Spanish drama owed to one" great author, Lope de Vega, what th"} English drama owed to liis contem- porary, Shakspeare, — a rise at a single bound from insignificance to great richness anil variety ; he created, moreover, nearly all its numerous divisions, and has left examples of each. The name comedy, in the early Spanish stage, implied no lu- dicrous or satirical representation, but simply a play of adventure. Comeding divinas, or spiritual comedies, were sul)- divided into lives of saints, and piece." of the holy sacrament : the comedies of hu- man life into heroic, answering to (ho tragedy of our early English dramatists, although even less regular in form ; and comedies of domestic adventure. Besiilcs these, the interludes which were played between the prologue and the piece pos- sess a distinct character as literary com- positions. Almost all pieces have one favorite invariable character, the gra- cioso or buffoon. Calderon, a greater poet than Lope, and his equal in dra- matic power, is the only other great name in the Spanish drama. Subsequent writers may all be classed as imitators either of their own older poets, or of the favorite dramatists of the French school. KngUsh Drama. — The semi-religious representations out of which the English drama arose, were called Mystery and Morality. One of the latter, The New Custom, was printed as late as 1.573; by which time several regular tragedies and comedies, tolerably approaching to the classical model, had appeared. But a third species of exhibition soon took pos- session of the stage, the historical drama, in which the successive events of a partic- ular reign or portion of history were rep- resented on the stage ; and, together with it, arose the English tragedy and comedy. The first dramatic poets of England (those before Shakspeare) were scholars ; hence they preferred the form of the ancient drama, the division into acts, itc. But they were also writers, who strove for popularity with the general class of their countrymen ; hence, instead of imitating classical simplicity, and confining them- selves to a peculiar cast of diction and sentiment removed from the ordinary course of life, they invented a species of composition which intermingled poetical with ordinary life and language. Com- edy, again, became in their hands a rep- resentation of adventures, differing from those of tragedy only by ending gener- ally in a happy instead of an unhappy exit, and not materially either in the characters or language. Thus the dis- tinctions which they established between tragedy, comedy, and tragi-comedy, are little more than adventitious ; and the Shaksperian drama, properly consider- ed, must be looked on as a miscellane- ous compound, in which actors, language, and sentiments, of a eharai'ter far re- moved from those of ordinary life, alter- 1V2 CrCLOPKDIA OF LITElJATUIiE [dr.! nate with those of a low and even a burlesque character. There is no trag- edy in Shakspeare in which comic scenes and characters are not introduced : there is only one comedy {'IVie Merry Wives of Windsor) without some intermixture of sentiment approaching to tragic. It continued to be the chief national litera- ture, as well as the favorite national amusement, down to the period of the civil wars, when the opinions and legis- lation of the prevailing party put a stop to dramatic representations altogether. During the interval thus created the old English art was unlearned altogether, and the now drama, on the model of the French, introduced almost at once on the return of Charles II. and his courtiers from the Continent. The distinction be- tween tragedy and comedy was then first substantially recognized : the former confined to heroic events and language, the latter to those of ordinary life. But tragedy, subjected to foreign rules, ceased entirely to flourish : and Otway, the last writer of the old English drama, who wrote partly on the ancient model, although after the Restoration, is also the last tragic poet of England who still occupies the stage ; with the exception of Rowe, and of a few authors of that pe- culiar species of composition, the domes- tic tragedy, in which the distresses and melancholy events of common life are substituted for those of an heroic charac- ter. Comedy, on the other hand, ob- tained possession of the national taste and stage ; and although the charm of poetry and romantic adventure, which had belonged to tlie old drama under either name, was denied to the modern comedy, it soon attained a high degree of excellence as well as popularity. The last comedies in verse were written shortly after the Restoration ; since which time, with the exception of a few insulated attempts to revive the older form, it has been entirely framed on the French model. The main element of a modern comedy is satire ; but it ailmits of a subdivision into comedy of intrigue and coinady of manners, — the former be- ing chiefly directed to tlie development of a plot, the latter to the delineation of manners; although these qualities ought, properly speaking, to be united to consti- tute a good play. The most distinguished English dramatic writers in the former line are, amongst manj', Congrcve, Van- brugh, Farquhar, Colman, Sheridan : in the latter, the writings of Shadwell and Foote. perhaps, afford the most remarka- ble instances of that less popular form of comedy which almost neglects the interest of plot, and confines itself to a satirical representation of prevailing vices and follies. German Drama. — The modern Ger- man drama is founded on the old English model; and, although the last in order of time, has risen to a high degree of ex- cellence, the stage in Germany being in- comparably more national and pojiular at the present time than in other Euro- pean countries. While France, England, and Spain have to look back two hundred years for tho.«e names which form the glory of their dramatic literature, Les- sing, Schiller, and (loethe are writers only of the past generation. DRAMATIS PERSO'N.^, the charac- ters represented in a drama. DRAMATURGY, the science or art of dramatic poetry and representation; a word used by German writers. DRA'PERY, in sculpture and paint- ing, the representation of the clothing of human figures ; also hangings, tapestry, curtains, and most other things that are not flesh or landscape. Although it is the natural body, and not some append- age added by human customs and reg- ulations, that sensibly and visibly rep- resents mind and life to our eyes, and has become the chief object of the plastic arts, yet the requirements of social life demand that the body be clothed; the artist fulfils this obligation in such man- ner as shall prove least detrimental to his aim. Drapery has, of itself, no de- terminate form, yet all its relations are susceptible of beauty, as it is subordinate to the form it covers. This beauty, which results from the motion and disposition of the folds, is susce|)tible of numerous com- binations very difficult to imitate ; in- deed, casting of draperies, as it is term- ed, is one of the most important of an artist's studies. The object is to make the drapery appear naturally disposed, the rc.'iult of accident or chance. In an- cient Art, the feeling and enthusiasm for corporeal beauty was universal, yet the opportunities for representing it were comparativelj' rare. Only in gymnastic and athletic figures did nakedness pre- sent itself as natural, ami become the privileged form of representation to the sculptor; it was soon, however, extended to statues of male deities ami heroes, (iarments that concealed the form were universally discarded ; it was sufficient to retain only the outer-garment, and even this was entirely laid aside when dreJ AND THE FINE AIM'S. 173 the figure was represente 1 in nction. In sedent statues, on the contrary, the up- per garuicnt''is seMoin laid a.sidc ; it is then usually drawn around the loins ; it denotes, therefore, rest and absence of exertion. In thi>> way the drapery, even in ideal figures, is significant, and be- comes an expressive attribute. Ancient Art, at the same time, loved a compendi- ous and illusive treatment ; the helmet denotes the whole armor; a piece of the chlauiys the entire dress of the Ephebos. It was customary at all times to repre- sent children naked ; on the other hand, the unrobing of the developed female body was long unheard of in Art, and when this practice was introduced, it re- quired at first a connection with life ; here the idea of the bath constantly pre- served itself until the eyes became ac- customed to adopt the representation with- out this justification. The portrait sta- tue retainad the costume of life, if it also was not raised above the common neces- sity by the form being rendered heroic or divine. — The draperies of the Greeks, which, from their simple, and, as it were, still undecided forms, for the most part only received a determinate character from the mode of wearing, and, at the same time, furnished a great alternation of smooth and folded parts, were espe- cially calculate 1 from the outset for such purposes ; but it also became early an artistic principle to render the forms of the body everywhere as prominent as possible, by drawing the garments close, and loading the skirts with small weights. The striving after clearness of represen- tation dictated to tlie artists of the best period a disposition into large masses, and a subordination of the details to the leading forms, precisely as is observ- ed in the muscular development of the body. DRAW, a word used in a variety of situations, and in some of ver}' opposite meanings, but in most of its uses it re- tains some shade of its original sense — to pull, to move forward by the application of force, or to extend in length. It ex- pre.sses an action gradual or continuous, and leisurely, yet not requiring the toil and ditiiculty which its kindred word drag implies. I)R.A.W'B.4CK, in commerce, a term used to signify the remitting or ])aying back of the duties previously paid on a commodity, on its being exported; so that it may be sold in a foreign market on the same terms as if it had not been taxed at all. By this device, therefore, merchants are enabled to export com- modities loaded at home with heavj' du- ties, and to sell them abroad on the same terms as those fetched from countries where they are not taxed. — In a popular sense, draicback signifies any loss of ad- vantage, or deduction from profit. DRAWER, and DRAWEE, in com- merce, the drawer is he who draws a bill of exchange or an order for the payment of money ; and the drawee, the person on whom it is drawn. DRAWING, the art of representing the appearances of objects upon a flat surface, by means of an outline which describes their form and shadow, situa- tion, distance, &c. DRAWIXG-ROOM, a room appiopri- ated for the reception of company at court ; or to which, in common cases, parties withdraw after dinner. Also, the company assembled at court to pay their respects to the sovereign. DRE.IMS, may be defined to be those trains of ideas which occupy the mind, or those imaginar3' transactions in which it is engaged, during sleep. Dreams constitute some of the most curious phe- nomena of the human mind, and have in all ages presented to philosophers a sub- ject of most interesting investigation. The theory of dreams embraces two dis- tinct classes of phenomena, physical and psychological : the former relate to the question as to how the body is afi"ected in a state of sleep, how the body in that state affects the mind, and how this affection operates to the production of the phe- nomena of dreams ; the latter compre- hend an inquiry into the laws which reg- ulate the train of ideas that occur during sleep, and the mode in which these laws operate, together with an examination of certain psychological appearances pe- culiar to that state. To both these classes of phenomena the attention of some of the most distinguished philosophers, both of antiquity and of modern times, has been directed ; and much labor and in- genuity have been expended in endeavor- ing to ascertain the origin and nature of dreams, and to account for the various phenomena by which they are accom- panied. Among a multitude of other efficient ciiinc!', dreams have been ascrib- ed to direct impressions on the organs of sense during sleep, — to the absence of real impressions on the senses, — to a dis- ordered state of the digestive organs, — to a less restrained action of the mental faculties, — to the suspension of volition while the powers of sensation continue, — lit CYCLOPEDIA OF LITEKATLRE [duu and to the succession and unequal relax- ation and cessation of the ditl'erent senses at the commencement and during the time of sleep. From the remotest period of antiquitj', dreams have also been as- cribed to supernatural agency. The rec- ords of history, both sacred and profane, abound in instances of dreams which it has been thought impossible to account for on any other hypothesis than that of a supernatural interposition ; and. as has been well observed, though there can be no doubt that many dreams which have been considered supernatural, as revealing facts and scientific truths, may now be explained by means within our own knowledge, it can just as little be doubted that many well-authenticated dreams are utterly ine.xplicable by ordi- nary means. This belief in the supernat- ural character of dreams is common to every nation in a greater or less degree ; but it prevails more especially in the countries of the East, where, from time immemorial, there has existed a class of persons whose peculiar occupation con- sists in the interpretation and explana- tion of dreams. Those who wish for com- prehensive details on this subject may consult the writings of Aristotle, Lucre- tius, Democritus, &e. ; and among modern writers, of Locke, Newton, Hartley, Bax- ter, Beattie, and Stewart; and still more recently, those of Abercrombie and Mac- nish, which are extremely valuable for the numerous instances of extraordinary dreams with which their theories are il- lustrated. DRESS, clothes worn as the covering or ornament of the body ; and generally, though not always, applied to elegant at- tire. — "To dress, is a military term for arranging the men in line. DRESS'IXGS, in architecture, mould- ings round doors, windows, and the like. DRIFTING EAVES, in architecture, the lower edges of a roof wherefrom the rain drips or drops to the ground. DRIVING NOTES, in music, such notes as connect the Last note of one bar with the first of the following one, so as to make only one note of both. They are also used in the middle of a measure, and when a note of one part terminates in the middle of the note of another, in whicli case it is called bindlns^ or legature. Driving notes are also called syncopation, when some shorter note at the beginning of a measure or half-measure is followed by two, three, or more longer notes, be- fore any other occurs equal to that which occasioned the driving note to make the number even ; for instance, when an odd crotchet succeeds two or three minims, or an odd quaver two or more crotchets. DROPS, in arciiitecture, the frusta of cones in the Doric order, used under the triglyphs in the architrave below the toeiiia. They are also used in the under part of the mutuli or modillions of the order. In the Greek examples they are sometimes curved a little inwards on the profile. DRUG'GET, a coarse woollen fabric, used for covering carpets, and sometimes as an article of clothing by females of the poorer classes. DRU'IDS, the priests or ministers of the ancient Britons and Gauls, resem- bling, in many respects, the bramins of India. The Druids were chosen out of the best families; and were held, both by the honors of their birth and their office, in the greatest veneration. They are said to have understood astrology, geome- try, natural historj', politics, and geogra- phy ; they had the administration of all sacred things; were the interpreters of religion, and the judges of all affairs ; and, according to Cfesar, they believed in the immortality of the soul, and its trans- migration through different bodies. DRUM, a military musical instrument in form of a C3'linder, hollow within, and covered at the ends with vellum, which is stretched or slackened at pleasure by the means of small cords and sliding knots It is beat upon with sticks. Some drums are made of brass, but they are common- ly of wood. There are several beats of the drum, as the chamadc, reveille, re- treat, itc. The drum is supposed to be an eastern invention, and to have been brought into Europe by the Arabians, or perhaps the Moors. The kettle drum, the bass drum, and tambourine, are com- mon in the East. — -In architecture, the up- right part of a cupola either above or be- low a dome. The same term is used to express the solid i)art or vase of the Co- rinthian and CiiuiiiDsitc capitals. DRrXK'KXNKSS, into.\ication. Phy- sically considered, it consists of a preter- natural compression of the brain, and a discomposure of its fibres, occasi(mcd by the fumes or spirituous parts of liquors ; so that the drunkard's reason is disorder- ed, and he reels or staggers in walking. Drunkenness appears in different shapes, in different constitutions; some it makes gay, some sullen, and some furious. Jlobbes makes voluntary drunkenness a breach of the law of nature, which directs us to preserve the use of our reason. duk] ANU Tllli; FINK AKTS. 175 Paley calls it " a social festive vice ;" and says, ■' The drinker collects his circle ; the circle naturally spreads ; of those who are drawn within it, many become the cor- rupters and centres of sets and circles of their own ; everj' one countenancing, and perhaps emulating the rest, till a whole ncighburhood be infected from the con- tagion of a single example." Drunken- ness is punishable by fine and imprison- ment, and in law is no excuse for any crime committed during the paroxysm. DRY' ADS, in the heathen theology, a sort of deities or nymphs, which the an- cients thought inhabited groves and woods. They differed from the Hama- dryads, these latter being attached to some particular tree with which they were born, and with which they died ; whereas the Dryads were goddesses of trees and woods in general. DRY'ER.S, substances, chiefly metallic oxides, added to certain fixed oils, to im- part to them the property of drying quickly when used in painting. That most commonly employed for this pur- pose is the oxide of lead; but icliite cop- peras or ukitc vitriol, (sulphate of zinc,) oxide of manganese, ground glass, oxide of zinc, calcined bones, chlo:ide of lime, and verdigris, (di-acetate of copper,) have also been used at various periods in the history of Art as dr^'ers. DRY'IXti OIL, Boiled Oil, when Un- seed oil is boiled with litharge, (oxide of lead.) it acquires the property of drying quickly when exposed in a thin stratum to the air. Its uses as a vehicle and varnish are well known. J)RY'XESS, this terra is applied to a style of painting, in which the outline is harsh and formal, and the color deficient in mellowness and harmony. It is not incompatible with good composition and other high qualities, as may be seen in some of the works of Holbein, and the earlier productions of Raphael. DU'ALI.SM, a name given to those systems of philosophy which refer all existence to tico ultimate principles. Dualism is a main feature in all the early Greek cosmogonies, and is that which distinguishes them from the eastern spec- ulations on similar subjects, which mostly regard all things as emanating from a single principle. The dualistic hypothe- sis was, doubtless, originally suggested by the analogy of male and female in animal existence. The earliest forms under which the theory appeared are, as might be expected, rude in the extreme. The Orphic poets made the ultimate prin- cii)les of all things to be Water and Night; by others ^Ether and Erebus, Time and Necessity, are severally deem- ed worthy of this distinction. The an- cient Greek and Roman mythology waa evidently constructed on this principle. In its more philosophic form, the dual- istic theory was maintained among the ancients by Pj'thagoras and many of the Ionian school ; among the moderns, chiefly by Descartes. It may be ex- pressed generally as the assumption of the coeternity and simultaneous develop- ment of the formative with the formed, of the natura naturans with the natura naturata. ,So the sj-stem of philosophy which regards matter and spirit as dis- tinct principles is a species of dualism, as opposed to materialism. — In theology, the doctrine of the two sovereign princi- ples of good and evil is also dualistic ; and the high Calvinistic theory may be said to be a species of dualism, viz. that all mankind are divided, in the eternal foreknowledge of God, and by his sove- reign decree, into two classes,— the elect and reprobate. DU'AL NUMBER, in grammar, is the name given to that form of tbe verb and substantive by which, in the ancient Greek, Sanscrit, and Gothic, and the modern Lithuanian languages, tico per- sons or things are denoted, in contradis- tinction to plural, which expresses an indefinite number of persons or things. DUG AT, a foreign coin of ditfereut values, and which are either of silver or gold. The silver ducat is generally of 4s. 6cZ. sterling, and the gold ducat of twice that value. DUCATOON', a silver coin, struck chiefly in Italy, value about 4s. 8d. ster- ling ; but the gold ducatoon of Holland is worth twenty florins. DUCES TECUM, (bring with thee,) in law, a writ commanding a person to appear on a certain day in the court of Chancery, and to bring with him some writings, evidences, or other things, which the court would view. DUE, that which one contract? to pay or perform to another ; that which law or justice requires to be paid or done. Also, that which office, rank, station, or established rules of right or decorum, require to be given or performed. DUEL, signified originally a trial by battle resorted to b^' two persons as a means of determining the guilt or inno- cence of a person charged with a crime, or of adjudicating a disputed right ; but in more modern times it is used to signify 176 CYCLOPEDIA OF I.ITF.i; ATURR [l)LM a hostile meeting between two persons, arising from an affront given by one to the other, and for the purpose (as is said) of affording satisfaction to the person af- fronted. The practice of the duel, as a private mode, recognized only by custom, of deciding private diS'erencos, seems to be of comparatively recent date, and de- scends by no very direct transmission from the ancient appeal to the judicial combat as a final judgment in legal dis- putes. That it originated with the feu- dnl system is abundantly clear, if it were only from the *"act that in Russia, where tiiat system was never known, the cus- tom of the duel was unheard of, until introduced by foreign officers, even within the memory of the present generation. But it is certain that many antiquarian writers have confused together two very different institutions ; the appeal to arms, as an alternative for the trial by ordeal or by compurgators, appointed by tra- ditionary usage from the earliest periods of Germanic history ; and the voluntary challenge or defiance, resorted to for the purpose of clearing disputes involving the honor of gentlemen. This last custom was first elevated to the dignity of an es- tablishcil institution by Philip le Bel of France, whose edict regulating the public combat between nobles bears the date of 1308 : the best comment on which may be found in the spirited and accurate rep- resentation, by Shakspeare, of the quar- rel between Mowbray and Bolingbroke. DUEN'NA, the chief lady in waiting on the queen of Spain. In a more gen- eral sense, it is applied to a person holding a middle station between a gov- erness and companion, and appointed to take charge of the junior female mem- bers of Spanish and Portuguese families. DUET', a piece of music composed for two performers, either vocal or instru- mental. 1)1 1\E, a sovereign prince in Germany, and the highest title of honor in England next to the Prince of Wales. His consort is called a duchess. — In England, among the Sa.\ons, the commanders of armies, Ac. were caileil dukes, duces, without any addition, till Edward III. mnde his son, the Black Prince, duke of Cornwall ; after whom there were more made in the same manner, tlie title dcsccn'ling to tiieir posterity. Duke, at present, is a more title of dignity, without giving any do- main, territory, or jurisdiction over the jdace from whence the title is tnkcn. The title of duke is siiid to have originated in the usages of the Lower Empire, where it was given to the military governors of provinces. From thence it was borrowed by the Franks, who adopted, in many respects, the titles and distinctions of tUo empire. Charlemagne is said to have suffered it to become obsolete, but the emperor Louis created a duke of Tluirin- gia in 847. In course of time, according to the usual progress of feudal dignities, the title became hereditary. In (Jernniny the dukes became the chief princes of the empire ; this title being proper to all the secular electors, and to most of the greater feudatories. In other countries their dignity became merely titular. In Italy and France dukes form the second rank in the nobility, being inferior to princes : in England they form the first. The title was not known in the latter country until the reign of Edward III. ; and the word du.x is used by writers be- fore that period as synonymous with count or earl. DUL'CIMER, a musical instrument played by striking brass wires with little sticks. DUJVIB, the most general, if not the sole cause of dumbness, is the want of the sense of hearing; and nothing is more fallacious than the idea, that the want of speech is owing to the want of mental capacity. The necessity of com- munication, and the want of words, oblige him who is dumb to observe and imitate the actions and expressions which accom- pany various states of mind and of feel- ing, to indicate objects by their appear- ance and use, and to describe the actions of persons by direct imitation, or panto- mimic expression. Hence what has been called the natural sign language has been adopted by instructors of the deaf and dumb, in order to express all the ideas we convey by articulate sounds. This language, in its elements, is to be found among all nations, and has ever been the meilium of communication be- tween voyagers and the natives Of newly discovered countries. The more lively nations of Europe, belonging to the Celtic race, the French, Italians, &c., mak(! great use of it, in connection with words, and sometimes even without them. The more phlegmatic people of the Tentnnio "race, in Englnnd and Germany, are so little disposed to it, that they regard it as a species of affectation or butroonery in their southern neighbors. The method of instructing the deaf and s to throw the water off therefrom, that being their office. EAVES'-DROPPER, one who skulks under the eaves of houses, for the pur- pose of listening to what passes within. E'BIONITES, an ancient sect who believed in Christ as an inspired messen- ger of God, but considered him to be 0,1 the same time a mere man, born of Jo- seph and Mary. They maintained also the universal obligation of the Mosaic law, ami rejected the authority of St. Paul. The origin of their name is un- certain, some deriving it from that of their supposed founder ; others deduce it from a Hebrew word .--ignifying ^oor, and sup- pose the title to be given to them in ref- erence either to the poverty of the class to which they mostly belonged, or to the meanness of their doctrine. EIJ'ONY, a hard, heavy, durable, black wood, which aitated from their solutions upon moulds in so fine a state of division as to form a coherent muss of j)ure metal, equal in toughness and flexibility to the ham- mered metals. The applications of this beautiful Art appear almost unlimited. and as a means of reproducing fac-sioiiles of art it is most invaluable. ELECTRUiNI, the term is applied in ancient art to amber, and to a compound of gold and silver, which resembled am- ber in color, and was employed for simi- lar purposes to those metals. ELEEMOS'YNARY, an epithet for whatever pertains to the use and manage- ment of charitable donations, whether in- tended for the relief of the poor or sick, or appropriated to education. A hospital founded by charity is an eleemosynary institution for the sick ; a college founded by donation is aXso eleemosynary ; and so is the corporation which is entrusted with the care of such institutions. EL'EGANCE, in a general sense, is that which pleases by its symmetry, pu rity, or beauty ; and is select, as distin- guished from what is common. — In litera- ture, elegance of composition consists in well-chosen words and phrases, arranged in an appropriate and happy manner. It implies neatness, purity, and perspicuous arrangement ; a style calculated to please a delicate taste, rather than to excite ad- miration or strong feeling. — In speaking, it includes propriety of diction and rich expressions with gracefulness of action. — In painting, it implies a certain manner which embellishes and heightens objects; as in Corregio, where, notwithstanding all the defects as to justness of design, there is an elegance even in the manner of the design itself, as well as in the turn of the attitudes, &c. — In architecture, elegance consists in the due symmetry and distri- bution of the parts of an edifice, or in reg- ular proportions and arrangement. — It is also applied to various works of art or nature remarkable for their beauty of form, &c. ELE'GIT. in law, a writ of execution, which lies for a person who has recovered debt or damages ; or upon a recognizance in any court, against a dcf'cinlniit that i.s not able in his goods to sati.-;l'y his credi- tors. EL'EGY, a mournful and plaintive kind of poem. The principal writers of elegiac verse among the Latins, were Propertius, Oviurished among others ilermagoras, Athena!us, Apollonius, Cweilius, and Dionysitis, their names have been almost withoi.t exception rescued from oblivion b}' a work which may bo regardeil as the hi.^t expiring ray of (Jrecian eloquence — the incomparable treatise of Longinuson llic Sublime. In consequence of the all-ab- sorbing spirit for military glory with which the ancient Romans Avere anima- ted, it was long before they found leisure to appreciate the advantages of elo- quence ; and even so late as the year of the city 592, when, by the inilustry of some Greeks, the liberal arts began to flourish at Rome, the senate passed a de- cree banishing all rhetoricians from the country. But a few j-ears afterwards, when Carneades. Critolaus, and Diogenes were sent as ambassadors from Athens to Rome, the Roman youth were so charmed with the eloquence of their harangues, that the study of oratory formed thence- forth a branch of a liberal education Men of the highest rank were now seen teaching and learning respectively the art of eloquence ; and such was the im- petus given to this study, that it made the most rapid advances, and was at last crowned by the appearance of Cicero, to whom critics have concurred in assigning a rank inferior only to that of Demos- thenes. The mighty scale on which everj'thing was conducted at Rome, and the enormous interests so frequently at stake, were never so wonderfully exhibi- ted as in the age of Cicero; and the un- paralleled exigency found or created in him a talent for profiting by its advanta- ges or coping with its difficulties. In the succeeding ages of the Roman em- pire, the despotic character of the gov- ernment checked the growth of the rhe- torical art ; but the names of Tacitus, Quintilian, and Pliny are an earnest of what might have been achieved in this arena, had circumstances permitted the development of their talents. With re- gard to the early history of eloquence in England, there are found, indeed, the names of several distinguished men who in former times directed the resolutions of parliament ; but no pains were taken to preserve their speeches ; and the au- thority which they possessed seems to have been owing to their experience, wisdom, or power, more than to their talents for oratory. It was not until the close Gf the last century that an era arose in the history of British eloquence, which the genius of Chatham, Pitt, 194 CVCI-OPEDIA OF LllKKATL'UE [kmjb Burke, Fox, and Sheridan has consecra- ted and immortalized. The little oppor- tunity iifTorded for a display cf f-.-rensic or senatorial eloquence by the different governments of tjermany has almost en- tirely checked its growth in that country ; and the same remark is applicable to Italy, Spain, and Portugal ; all of which, however, have been rich in the eloquence of the pulpit. The only two countries in tie world whose orators can be put in competition with those of Britain, are France and America. To the pulpit ora- tory of the former, the illustrious names of Bossuet, Bourdaloue, and Massillon have given eniluring celebrity ; while the popular character of their respective institutions has formed a host of forensic and senatorial speakers worthy a prom- inent place among the orators of antiqui- ty, and modern times. E'LUL, the name of a Jewish month, answering to part of August. ELYS'IUM, or ELYS'lAN FIELDS, in heathen mythology, the supposed resi- dence of the blessed after death. The poets describe this region as consisting of beautiful meadows alternated with pleas- ant groves ; where a serene and cloud- less sky was spread over them, and a soft, celestial light shed a magical bril- liancy over every object. The heroes there renewed their favorite sports ; danced to the sound of the lyre from which Orpheus drew the most enchanting tones, or wan- dered through the most odoriferous groves, where the warbling birds carolled forth their harmony by the side of re- freshing fountains. There the earth teemed with plenteous fruits, and the verdure of spring was perpetual ; while all cares, pains, and infirmities, were e.x- thanged for the purest bliss. EMANCIPA'TION, by the ancient Roman law, the son stood in the relation of a slave to the father. By a fiction of that law, the son might be freed from "his relation by being three times sold oy the father. Hence the enfranchise- ment of the son derived from this cere- mony the name of emancipation. In oour.se of time, various modes of emanci- pation, both tacit and e.vpress, became recognized by tlie Roman jurisprudence. The word, in countries following that law, signiQes the e.vemption of the son from the jiowcr of the father, cither by express act, or by imjilication of law. By the present civil hiw of France, majority (and with it emancipation) is attained at 21 years of age; and the marriage of a minor emancipates him. In ordinary language, emancipation is used in a gen- eral sense to signify the enfranchisement of a slave, or the admission of particular classes to the enjoyment of civil rights. EMBALM'INU, the opening a dead body, taking out the intestines, and fill- ing the place with odoriferous and dcsic- cative drugs and spices, to prevent its putrefaction. The Egyptians have al- ways been celebrated for their adherence to this practice, and the skill with which they performed it. AVith some variation, it is still one of the peculiar customs of that nation. It appears to have been a metaphysical notion, inculcated as of their religion, that the soul continued with the body. There naturally followed an affectionate desire to do everything that living creatures can suppose accept- able to the dead. They were even de- sirous of having the dead bodies of their parents in their houses, and at their tables, and believed, as has been suggest- ed, that their souls ^yere present also; and it was essential to this gratification that those bodies should be preserved in the most perfect manner possible. — Mod- ern chemistry has made us acquainted with many means of counteracting putrefac- tion, more simple and more effectual than the laborious processes of the ancients. EMBAR'GO, in commerce, a prohibi- tion of sailing, issued by authority on all shipping, either out of port, or into port. It is generally to restrain ships from leaving a port. EM'BASSY, the public function or employment of a public minister, whether amijassador or envoy. E.M'BER DAYS," in the Romish cal- endar, are certain fasts appointed by Rope Cali.xtus for imploring the blessing of the Almighty on the fruits of the earth, and upon the ordinations per- formed in the church at tiiese times. They occur four times a year, or once in each of the four seasons ; being the Wed- nesday, Friday, and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent, after the feast of Pentecost or Whitsunday, after the fes- tival of Holy Cross on the 14th of Sep- tember, and after the festival of St. Lu- cia on the 13th of December. The week.ut, on the fall of the republic it was particularly ap- plied to the head of the state. The au- thority of the Roman emperors was form- ed principally by the combination of the chief offices of the old republic in a single person ; besides which, some extr:\ordi- nary powers were conferred. Thus, Oc- tavius held the titles of emperor, procon- sul, and tribune, pontifex maximus or high priest ; and was invested with perpetual consular authority, and also that of the censorship. Besides this, he was termed prince of the senate, and Augustus, which designation descended to his successors ; but he was much more moderate in his use of titular dignities than his successor, contenting himself with substantial pow- er. The provinces of the empire were divided between the senate and emperor, who appointed their governors, distin- guished by the respective titles of procon- sul and propriBtor ; but this division threw all the armies into the hands of the latter, as he took for his share the fron- tier provinces. The emperors appointed their own successors, who were dignified with the title of Ca;sar, and in later times enjoyed a share in the government. Dio- clesian first divided the care of the em- pire with a second Augustus in the per- son of Maximian, and each of these col- leagues associated with himself a Caesar. After the court was removed to Constan- tinople, the old titles and forms of the re- public vanished by degrees, and the em- perors assumed the style of oriental princes — Charlemagne a,ssumed the title of emperor after his coronation at Rome ; and from his time this title (in German kaiser) was claimed exclusively, in west- ern Europe, by the rulers of Germany. On the dissolution of the (Jerman empire in 180,3, the title passed to the emperor of Austria, and, in the same year. Napo- leon assumed it in France ; the czars of Russia claimed it in the reign of Alex- ander. EM'PIIASIS, in rhetoric, a particular stress of utterance, or force of the voice and action, given to such parts or words of an oration, as the speaker intends to impre.ss specially upon his audience. EM'PIRE, originally the territory or extent of land under the command and AND TIIK FINK A II IS. 197 jurisdiction of an emperor. The domin- ions under the sway of ancient Rome were the first to which the term emi)ire was applied : they consisted of two j^rand di- visions, — the Empire of the East, or. as it was afterwards called, the Lower Em- pire ; and the Em|)ire of t lie West. The former admitted of various subdivisions in reference to the different dynasties to which it was suhjeet ; and the latter be- came, about the end of the 9th century, the (iernian or Holy Roman Empire. In all these cases the sovereign or chief per- son in the empire was named the empe- ror. But the term empire has in several instances been employed to designate a large extent of dominion, without refer- ence to the title of the ruler or sovereign of a country ; thus we hear of the empire of Persia, Hindostan, &c. The dominions of the Queen of England are invariably designated the British Empire ; and the epithet " imperial" is officially prefixed to the parliament of the united kingdom. The term empire was applied from 1804 to 1814 to the dominions of France, in- cluding all the countries then incorpora- ted with it by the conquests of Napo- leon. EMPIR'IC, one whose knowledge is founded on experience. The empiric school of medicine was opposed to the dogmatic ; it appears to have originated with Serapion of Alexandria. The em- pirics considered the foundation of medi- cal science to rest upon experience, de- rived either directly from experiment or from chance and imitation. They were, however, a pretending, and generally ig- norant sect ; so that the term empiric is generally applied to quacks and pre- tenders, without reference to its strict etymology, which should have limited it to the study of medicine, in accordance with the principles of Lord Bacon's philos- ophy. EMPO'RIUM, a common resort of merchants for trade ; particularly a city or town of extensive commerce, or in which the commerce of an extensive coun- try centres, or to which sellers and buy- «rs resort from different countries. EMPYRE'U.M, or EMPYRE'AN, a term used by divines for the highest hea- ven, where the blessed enjoy the beatific vision. — Hence we have the word empy- real, as pertaining to that region of spice which is refined beyond aerial substance, where only pure fire or light is supposed to exist. ENAM'EL, a kind of colored glass, principally formed by the combination of different metalTic oxyde^, and used in enamelling and painting in enamel. Enamels have for their basis a pure crystal-glass, or frit, ground up with a fine calx of lead and tin, prepared for the purpose, with the addition usually of white salt of tartar. These ingredients baked together, are the matter of all enamels, and the color is varied by add- ing other substances, and melting or in- corporating them together in a furnace. Enamels are distinguished into trans- parent and opaque ; in the former all the elements have experienced an equal degree of liquefaction, and are thus run into crystal glass, whilst in the others, some of their elements have resisted the action of heat more, so that their particles retain sufficient aggregation to prevent the transmission of light. They are used either in counterfeiting or imitating pre- cious stones, in painting in enamel, or by enamellers, jewellers, or goldsmiths, in gold, silver, and other metals. This art is of so great antiquity, as to render it difficult, if not impossible, to trace to its origin. It was evidently practised by the Egyptians, from the remains that have been found on the ornamented en- velopes of mummies. From Egypt it passed into Greece, and afterwards into Rome and its provinces, whence it was probably introduced into Great Britain as vnrious Roman antiquities have been dug up in different parts of the island, particularly in the barrows, in which enamels have formed portions of the orna- ments. — Painting in enamel, &c. is per- formed on plates of gold or silver, but more commonly of copper, enamelled with the white enamel ; the colors are melted in the fire, where they take a brightness and lustre like that of glass. This painting is prized for its peculiar brightness and vivacity, which is very permanent : the force of its colors not being effaced or sullied by time, as in other painting, and continuing alwaj's as fresh as when it came out of the work- man's hands. The town of Limoges, in the south of France, has acquired a great name in the history of the art of enamel- ling ; it was particularly distinguished in the twelfth century, and its productions wore called Opus de Limogia and Labor Ltimogice. Many reliquaries of that time are still extant, the sides and slop- ing roofs of which are composed of plates of copper, covered with etchings and enamel paintings. The most famous artist in enamelling was Leonard Limou- sin of Limoges, from whom the French 198 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITKRAiUUK [eno works of Art of that period were called Limousins: other masters in this art were Pierre Rexraon, Jean Court, called Vigier, J. Laudin, P. Nouaillior, the master J. P., who is known to us only by his cipher, but whose works are excel- lent, displaying noble ideas, and the mas- ter P. C, who is held in high estimation. As regards the technical part of painting, the works of these masters rank far be- low those produced in more recent times ; they are rather illuminated line-draw- ings, with a glazed transparency of color, or monochrome paintings, the naked fig- ures being well modelled and generally of a reddish tint ; the ornaments in gold and the gilded lights make the paintings appear rich and brilliant. In the course of the seventeenth century the technical part of the art of enamel painting im- proved considerably, progressing from monochrome to that in various colors. Towards the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth centuries, the art arrived at technical perfection, and real pictures were produced with the softest and most delicate gradations of color. But the works of this period were of very small dimensions, the paintings being sometimes on silver, but generally upon gold, and principally portrait me- dallions, for which the art was now em- ployed. Much that was excellent was produced, but in historical representation the artists followed the degenerate style of the compositions of those days, so that these works, in spite of their technical perfection, must rank below those of the sixteenth century. ENAMEL PAINTING on Lava, a newly-invented stj'le of painting very serviceable for monuments. This inven- tion of enamelling upon stone, discovered in France, and well known in Germany, has produced a kind of painting having all the advantages of color and treat- ment, and the great recommendation of being nearly indestructible. The material used was discovered by Count Chabrol de Volvic; it consists of volvic stone, and lava from the mountains of Auvergne. The method of painting is a now kincl of enamelling, and has been used by Abel du Pujol and others in various works of Art ; for example, the altar of the church of St. Elizabeth, at Paris ; it has recently been used in architecture by llittorf of Cologne, for the exterior of buildings. In Paris there are several tablets paint- ed with figures in the Arabesque and Pompeiian styles, which have excited great admiration by the case and yet preciseness of the treatment, as well as by the firmness of the materials, for a sharp piece of iron might be drawn ovei them without injuring the painting. ENCE'NIA, in antiquity, anniversary feasts to commemorate the completing or consecrating any new and public work, &c. In modern times, this term is used for any commemorative festival. ENCAMP'MENT, the act of pitching tents for the accommodation of an army in the open country. ENCAU.S'TIC PAINTING, a peculiar mode of painting in wa.x, liquefied by fire ; by which the colors acquire consid- erable hardness, brilliance, and durabil- ity. Ancient authors often mention this species of painting, but we have no an- cient pictures of this description, and, therefore, the precise manner formerly adopted is not completely developed, though many moderns have closely in- vestigated the subject and described their processes. As the thing chiefly regarded in encaustic painting was the securing of permanence and durability, by the ap- plication of fire, the word evcaustic has been applied, in a very general sense, to other processes, in which both the mate- rial and the mode of applying the heat, are entirely different from what is con- ceived to have been the ancient materials and modes. The moderns have used the term for painting on porcelain, and work in enamel ; and in the same way it was given to the painting on glass of the mid- dle ages, such as is still seen in the win- dows of some Gothic churches. It has also been just as erroneously applied to works in metal ; where gold and silver were inlaid, melted, or laid on, and of everything which was gilt or silvered by fire ; which was called gold or silver en- caustic. ENCHANT'MENT, the use of magic arts and spells, or the invocation of de- mons, in order to produce wonderful or supernatural eff'ects. ENCIIA'SING, or CHA'SING, the art of enriching and beautifying gold, silver, Ac, by some design represented thereon, in low relievo. It is performed by punch- ing, or driving out the metal, to form the figure, from within side, so as to stand out prominently from the plane or surface of the metal. ENCIIYRID'ION, a manual or small volume. ENCLIT'IC, in grammar, a particle so closely united with any other word as to seem to be part of it, as que, in vi- rumque. enf] AND TilK FINE AlllS. 199 ENCOMBOMA, a portion of Greek costume consist- ing of a kind of apron, fastened loosely round the loins by being gii- thered into a knot. It was worn chiefly by young maidens ; its use appears to have been to keep the tunic clean. The annexed woodcut represents ay oung female playing on the double pipes, probably an at- tendant in the scene of some play. ENCORE', a word signifying again; used by the audience at theatres, and other places, when they call for a repetition of a particular song, &c. ENCRATI'TES, in church history, a sect which appeared towards the end of the second century : they were called en- cratites, or continentes, because they ab- stained from marriage, and the use of wine and animal food. ENCROACH'MENT, in law, an un- lawful intrusion or gaining upon the rights and possessions of another. ENCYCLOPE'DIA, a general system of instruction or knowledge, embracing the principal facts in all branches of science and the arts, properly digested, and arranged in alphabetical order. See Cyclopedia. ENDEM'IC, a disease peculiar to a certain class of persons, or to a certain district. Thus agues or intermittent fevers are endemic in low countries, — the goitre in the Alps, the jjUcu Poloiuca in Poland. ENDORSING, the writing one's name on the back of a bill of exchange or check : by which responsibility for its amount is incurred, if duly presented and not paid. ENDOWMENT, in law, the act of giving or assuring a dower to a womnn. Also, the as'signing certain rents ami rev- enues for the maintenance of a viear, almshouses, &c — The word etidowmen* has also a more enlarged signification, implying any quality or faciilt}' bestowed on man by the Creator. ENDRO'MIS, a cloak mailc of warm coarse materials liko a blanket, used to throw over those who were heated by the foot race; or, after athletic exercises, to pro- tect the wearer from the effects of exposure to cold. In more recent times the name was applied to a luxurious garment worn by women, especially those of Rome. Figures clothed in the En- dromis are of fre- quent occurence in works of Art relat- ing to the exer- cises of the gym- nasium. This word also designates the hunting boots worn by Diana, as being peculiarly suitable for the chase, the toes being left uncovered. E N D Y ' M I N, according to some, a huntsman, according to others, a shep- herd, and according to a third account, a king of Elis. lie is said to have asked of Jupiter, w!-,om many have called his father, eternal youth and immortality. His beauty excited passion even in the cold Diana, tind hence he has served in all ages as an ideal of loveliness, and Diana's love to him as that of the ten- derest affection. He is most generally conceived as sleeping in the wood, where the mild rays of the moon kiss his slum- bering eyes. EN'EMY', in a political sense, any one belonging to a nation with whom our own country is at war. — In law, it denotes an alien or foreigner, who in a public capaci- ty, and with a hostile intention, invades any kingdom. EN ERGY, the internal or inherent power, virtue, or efficacy of a thing; as, Danger will rouse our dormnnt energies, into action ; the administration of the laws requires eitergij in the magistrate. It also signifies the momentum which any simple or compound borly exhibits, bv causes ohvifius or concealed. "EXER'VATE, to deprive of nerve, force, or strength ; as, idleness and luxu- ry enervate both body and mind. ENFEOFF'MENt, in law, the act of giving the fee simple of an estate 200 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITEUATLRE [esq ENFILADE', in military tactics, is used in speaking of trenches, or other phiL-cs, which may be seen and scoured by the enemy's shot along the whole length of a line. EXFRAX'CHISEMEXT, in law, the incorporating a person into any society or body politic ; to admit to the privileges of a freeman. ENGA'UED COLUMNS, in architect- ure, columns attached to walls, by which a portion of them is concealed ; they never stand less than one half out from the walls. EXCIAGE'MENT, a word used in dif- ferent senses. Any obligation by agree- ment or contract, is an engagement to perform, &c. ; the conflict of armies or fleets is an engagement ; and any occu- pation, or emploj'ment of the attention, is likewise cnlled an engagement. EN'GLISH, the language spoken by the people of England, and their de- scendants in India, North America, and the British colonies. The ancient lan- guage of Britain is generally allowed to have been the same with that of the Cauls ; this island, in all probability, having been first peopled from Gallia, as both CcBsar and Tacitus prove by many strong and conclusive arguments. Julius Cii3sar, sometime before the birth of our Saviour, made a descent upon Britain, though he may be said rather to have discovered than conquered it : but, about the year 45, in the time of Claudius, Aulus Plautius was sent over with some lloman forces, by whom two kings of the Britons, Codigunus and Caractacus, were both signally defeated : whereupon a Ko- man colony was planted at Maiden in Essex, ancl the southern parts of the island were reduced to the form of a llo- man province. Britain was subsequently conc|uered as far north as the friths of Dumbarton and Edinburgh, by Agrieola, in the time of Domitian ; and a great number of the Britons, in the conquered jiart of the i.-land retired to the western part, called Wales, where their language ciintinued to be spoken without any for- eign adini.xturo. Tin; greatest i)art of Britain b(^ing thus beciome a lloman provinc", the lloman legions, wlio resided in Uritain for above two hundred years, undoubtedly disseminated the Latin longue ; and the people being afterwards governed by laws written in Latin, it must have necessarily followed tliat the language would undergo a considerable change. In fact, the Itrilisii tongue con- tinued, lor .-omo time, mi.xed with the provincial Latin ; but at length, the de- clining state of the lloman empire ren- dered the aid of the Roman legions ne- cessary at home, and on their abandoning the island, the Scots and Picts took the opportunity to attack and harass South Britain : upon which, Vortigern, the king, about the year 440, called the Sa.xons to his assistance, who coming over with several of their neighboring tribes, re- pulsed the Scots and Picts, and wer« rewarded for their services with the ish of Thanet, and the whole county of Kent Growing at length too ]OTwerful, and no being contented with their allotment they dispossessed the inhabitants of al the country on the east side of the Sev- ern ; and thus the British language wag in a great measure destroyed, and that of the Saxons introduced in lieu of it. What the Saxon tongue was long before the Conquest, viz. about the year 709, may be seen in the most ancient manu- script of that language, which is a gloss on the Evangelists, by bishop Eadfride, in which the three first articles of the Lord's praj-er run thus : " Uren fader thic arth in heofnas, sic gehalgud tiiin noma, so symeth thin ric. Sic thin willa sue is heofnas, and in eortho, &c." In the beginning of the ninth century, the Danes invaded England, and getting a footing in the northern and eastern parts of the country, their power gradually in- creased, and in about two hundred years they became its sole masters. ]{y this means the ancient English obtained a tincture of the Danish language : but their government, being of no long continu- ance, did not make so groat an alteration in the Anglo-Saxon, as the next revolu- tion, when tlio whole land, A n. 10()7, was subdueil by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, in France : for the Nor- mans, as a monument of their conquest, endeavored to make their language as generally received as their commands : and thereby the English language be- came an entire medley. Aljout the year 000, the Lord's prayer in the ancient \n- glo-Saxon, read as follows : " Thu ure fader the eart on heofenum, si thin nania gchalgod ; cumo thin rice si thin willa on eorthan swa, swa on heofnuin, ite." And, about the year IIGO, ])ope Adrian, an Englishman, thus rendered it in rhyme : " Uio fmler in heaven rich, Thy niime lie hayluil ever lich, Thou hnuf iis Ihy micholl hiisse : A Is hit in heaven y-chiin- gauer must not be forgotten. This artist, who was also a painter and goldsmith, was the father of the (Jerman school of engraving. He was a native of Culm- bach in Franconia, and born about 1420. He began the i)raclice of the art wiieu it was in its infancy, and succeeded in car- rying it to a great degree of perfection. His death occurred at Colinar in 1486. Vasari relates that Michael Angelo, when young, was so pleased with a print by Sehongaiier, representing St. Anthony tormented by devils, that he copied it in colors. Albert Durer, the most celebrated of the ^arly engravers of Germany, was born at Nuremburg, in 1471. Skilled in many arts, and a painter of no ordinary powers, it is astonishing that, in a life not exceeding fifty-eight years, he should have succeeded so eminently in that of engraving that he has even hardly been surpassed. On copper as well as wood his works exhibit specimens of executive excellence, which the experience of centuries has not been able to surpass. Durer is supposed to have been the in-* ventor of the art of etching, at least no etchings are known before those which are extant from his hand. Of the works he has left, which are very numerous, his wood engravings are the most free and masterly. Following Albert Uurcr were Aldegrever his pupil, Hans Beham and his brother Bartholomew, Altdorfer, Binck, Goerting, Penz, and Solis. Hans Holbein, who, according to some was a native of Basle, and according to others of Augsburg, besides acquiring celebrity as a painter, is known as an engraver on wood, executed many pieces : the best known and most remarkable of which are the fifty-three prints called the " Dance of Death," first published about 1530. Of the Dutch and. Flemish schools Lucas van Lcyden must be considered the head. Born in 1494, at the place whence he de- rives his name, he was the contemporary and friend of Albert Durer; to whom, though inferior in design, he was supe- rior in composition. His works, which were both on wood and copper, are few in number. The Low Countries furnished a host of engravers, among whom we think it unnecessary to name more than the Sadclers ; Bloemart, who laid the founda- tion of the principles upon which lines be- come capable of expressing quality, color and chiaro oscuro, which the French en- gravers afterwards improved; Goltzius and his pupils; Muller; and Lucas Kiliau : the three last, though they handled the graver with great freedom and dexterity, fell into boundless absurd- ity and extravagance which, however, were tempered and corrected by Mathieu and Saenredam. In the beginning of the seventeenth century the two Bolswerts appeared, whose style was much im- ENO] AND THE FINE ARTS. 203 proved b}' the instructions of Rubens. Vosterman, Pontius, and Peter de Jode tUo younger, were of this school, which is distinguished for the success and correct- ness witli which it transferred the picture to the copper. Kembrandt, notwithstand- ing all his faults and absurdities, claims a special notice in this place as an en- graver. The Descent from tlie Cross, and the print called "Hundred Guilder Print," are extraordinary efforts of art. His portraits and landscapes are full of nature, expression, and character ; and it is dithoiilt to say whether he is more suc- cessful in his sunshine effects, than in the Bober solemn twilight with which his varied subjects are enveloped. Vandyke has left a few specimens of etchings wor- thy of his name. Jegher, Lutma, and above all the family of the Vischers, ex- hibited great excellence in the art, which continued to advance under the hands of Waterloo, Jacob Ruysdael, and Paul Pot- ter; the last of whom, in his etchings of animals, displayed a scientific acquaint- ance with drawing and anatomy till his time unpractised. We must now return to close the brief account of the Italian school, in which the appearance of Marc Antonio Raimon- di forms the most splendid era. Born at Bologna about 1488, he became the pupil of Raibolini, an artist of that city. His master in the art of engraving is, how- ever, unknown. We first hear of him at Venice, whither Albert Durer went to institute proceedings against him for pirating his prints, wliich had been copied by Raimondi with such wonder- ful accuracy th.it they were sold for the originals. But the proper sphere for Marc Antonio was Rome, whither he Boon bent his steps. There his merit Eoon gained him the friendship and es- teem of Raffaelle, then in the plenitude of his glory, by whom he was employed to engrave from his designs. His first plate from a design by Raffaelle was the Lucretia, soon after which he executed the Judgment of Paris. His engravings after this master are very numerous ; and though free from the blandishments of style, chiaroscuro, and local color which the art has received since his time, such was his knowledge of drawing, such the beautiful character that pervailes his works, that he is entitled to the highest rank in the art to which excellence has ever attained His school attracted to Ri rac artists from all parts ; among whom may be enumerated Marco de Ravenna, Giulio Bonasoni, Agostino de Musis, Enea Vico, and Nicolo Beatrici. Some of the German artists whom wo have named above, viz., Bchani, I'enz, and James Binck, resorted to Rome for the benefit of his instructions. On the death of Raffaelle, he executed engrav- ings of some of the works of GiuUio Romano. His last print, the Battle of the LapithiB, is dated 153'J. Some of the principal pupils of Marc Antonio have already been named ; to them may be added Georgio Oirisi, commonly called Mantuanus, and others of his family. Man}' of the Italian painters were ex- tremely successful in engraving, among whom Titian etched many landscapes ; but none cultivated the art with more success than Agostino Caracci, who studied under Cornelius Cort, a Dutch engraver, born at Hoorn in 1.536. His design and execution are equally to be admired ; and had he but concentrated his lights more, and attended to local color, he would have been exceeded by none. In the seventeenth century Delia Bella, Callot, who, though born in France, belongs to the Italian school, Guercino, Salvator Rosa, and Claude, continued the reputa- tion of the art. At the latter end of this century was born Antonio Canaletti, originally a scene painter, like his father Bernardo. His etchings opened an en- tirely new field in architectural engrav- ing, and may be considered almost, if not quite, the first in which fine spark- ling effects of light are introduced, and in which the darkest shadows partake of the transparency and clearness which nature herself exhibits. Piranesi, who was born in Venice, and died in 1770, appeared about the middle of that cen- tury ; he was one of the most surprising architectural engravers that have ever existed, whether we consider the aston- ishing power or number of his works. His use of the etching needle surp.assed all that has been done before or since ; and in our own time Volpato of Florence, who, besides his other works, engraved almost all the celebrated performances of Canova with a delicacy, grace, and correctness of the first order. The French school commenced about the middle of the sixteenth century with Noel Gamier, who was followed by many clever artists ; but till the time of Louis XIV. it cannot be said to have been high- ly distinguished. At that epoch we have Gerard E lelinck, who, though born at Antwerp, belongs properly to the French school, and Gerard Audran. The former of these, who worked entirely with the 204 CYCLOTEDIA OF LITEUAIUHE [exo graver, carried wliat is calleil color in en- graving to a much greater degree of per- fection than had ever before been prac- tised. His facility was amazing, and por- trait and history were equally ihe subjects of his burin. The name of Audran, not less from the circumstance of the family hav- ing produced six engravers, than for Ge- rard Audran, who engraved the well- known battles of Alexander after Le Brun, is conspicuous in the history of the art ; his name, however, will descend to posterity with greater lustre from his engravings after the Italian school, and particularly those of Xicolo Poussin. (lerard Audran was born at Lj-ons in 1640, and died in Paris in 1703. John Audran, the last of the family who exer- cised the art, and nephew of Gerard, died in 1756. Nanteuil, the three Drevets, of whom Peter was the most eminent, Le Clerc, Chereau, Cochin, Beauvais, Simonneau Dupuis, and many other mas- ters, belong to this period ; but Balechon anii Wille, towards the middle of the cen- tury, outstripped all that had been done by their predecessors. AVille was a Ger- man ; but his residence having been chiefly at Paris, he is always ranked pmong the French engravers. His ex- traonlinar}' powers in imitating the qualities of objects, and particularly of satin, the smoothness of eflect he pro- duced, and his extraordinary clearness in the use of the graver, entitle him to a jilaee of the first rank in the French school, which, since the age of Louis XIV., has been more distinguished for its great mechanical skill, than for grace, correctness, and beauty in the higher de- partments of the art. Till the middle of the seventeenth cen- tury England was indebted to foreign artists for the embellishment bestowed upon the typographical works she pro- duced, as well as for such engravings, either in history, portrait, or landscape, as the taste of the nation required. Among tlie artists who visited England and made it their permanent or tempo- rary residence were the Passes, Vaillant, Hondius, Vosterman, Hollar, Blooteling, Dorigny, and sf^vcral others. Payne, who died about 1648, and Faithornc, who executed many historical pieces and por- traits in a masterly manner, were the earliest English engravers deserving men- tion. William Faithorne, son of the last named, was eminent as one of the earliest incz/.otinto engravers. This invention, which is usually attributeil to Prince Rupert, is claimed by llcinoken for Lieu- tenant Colonel Siegen, who was a Hessian officer, from whom Heineken says Prince llupe.rt learned the secret, which ho brought to England on his return with Charles II. After the two Whites, father and son, appeared Vertue, who was born in 1684. He was the scholar of Vandar- gucht, and from the numerous works bo brought out must have been an artist of great industry and facility. The larger portion of his labors was confined to por- trait?. The works of Pond and Knapton can only be mentioned as continuing tho history, though occasionally they possess some spirit ; but Vivares, a Frenchman by birth, belonging, however, to the En- glish school, and indeed the founder of it in landscape engraving, has shown in his engravings from the pictures of Claude, talents, the precursors of that pre-eminence in landscape engraving which the English have not only improved upon but exclusively possessed. Wool- lett carried execution to a far greater extent than Vivares, uniting with that engraver's spirit all the elegance, clear- ness, and delicacy of the French school ; and to these Woollett superadiled every beauty that mechanical skill could efTcct. John Browne was a cont(;mporary worthy of Woollett, whose works after Salvator, Both, and others, are well executed. Sii Robert Strange distinguished himself by his great mechanical skill, whence re- sulted beautiful execution, by the breadth he preserved in the eftecfs he copied, and bj- the delicacy he imparted to flesh in a manner that has never been equalled. His principal engravings are from the Italian painters, especially Titian. Guido, and Corregio, and reflect great honor on the English school, which since his time has never been deficient in producing artists of the first class. Strange was a native of one of the Orkney islands, where ho was born in 1721, and died in 1792. Since his time the names of artists of talent might be here supplied to a \ery great extent : we shall merely mention those of Basire, Bartolozzi, Booker, Heath, Byrne, Broiuley, Lowry, Earlom, Raphael, Smith, &c. In the {)resent day, the demand of prints for the cnibcllisii- ment of books lias produced talent both in England and in the United States which, perhaps, might be more nobly employed in works of a higher order, T'his^ruring on. ]]'ot)is, among chemists, signifies the es- sence or virtue of any substance. ENSEM'BLE, {French,) a term u.sed in the fine arts to denote the general effect of a whole work, without reference to the parts. The ensemble of a picture, for instance, may be satisfactory to the eye of the spectator, though the several parts may not bear a critical analysis ; or, in a drama, the characters maybe well drawn, and yet it may be deficient in the ensem- ble, that is, as a whole. EN SIFORM, an epithet for that which resembles a sword, {ensis ;) as an ensi- form leaf. EN'SIGN, the flag or banner under which soldiers are ranged, according to the different regiments to which they be- long. — Ensign is also the officer that carries the colors, being the lowest com- missioned officer in a company of infan- try. — Naval ensign, is a large banner hoisted on a staff, and carried over the poop or stern of a ship. ENTAB'LATURE, in architecture, the architrave, frieze, and cornice, at the top of a column, and which is over the capi- tal ; the horizontal continuous work which rests upon a row of columns. ENTAIL', in law, an estate entailed, abridged and limited by certain condi- tions prescribed by the first donor. Es- tates tail are either general or special ; and are always less estates than a fee simple. — To entail, is to settle the de- scent of lands and tenements, by gift to a man and certain heirs specified, so that neither the donee nor any subse- quent possessor can either alienate or be- queath it. ENTASIS, in architecture, a delicate and almost imperceptible swelling of the shaft of a column, to be found in almost all the Grecian examples, adopted to pre- vent the shafts being strictly frusta of cones. This refinement, which is alluded to in the second chapter of the third book of Vitruvius, was first observed in exe- 208 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITEKATURE oution by Mr. Allason in 1814 in the Athenian edifices. ENTEL'ECHY, a peripatetic term, in- vented by Aristotle in order to express an object in its complete actualization, as opposed to merely potential existence. ENTERTAINMENT, the pleasure which the mind receives from anything interesting, and which arrests the atten- tion. Also, the hospitable reception of, and amusement we provide for, our guests. — In a dramatic sense, the farce or pantomime which follows a tragedy or comedy. ENTHUSIASM, in a religious sense, implies a transport of the mind, whereby a person vainly fancies himself inspired with some revelation from heaven, or that his actions are governed by a divine impulse. Devotion, when it does not lie under the check of reason, is apt to de- generate into enthusiasm ; and when once it fancies itself under the influence of a divine impulse, it is no wonder that it should slight human ordinances, and trust to the conceits of an overweening imagi- nation. But enthusiasm, in another sense, when under the control of reason and experience, becomes a noble passion, that forms sublime ideas, and prompts to the anient pursuit of laudable objects. Such is the enthusiasm of the poet, the orator, the painter, and the sculptor — such is the enthusiasm of the patriot, the hero, the philanthropist, and the truly devout Christian, EN'THYMEME, among logicians, de- notes a syllogism, perfect in the mind, but imperfect in the expression. This is the character under which the univer- sal form of reasoning, or syllogism, gen- erally presents itself in connected wri- ting. For example, the following argu- ment, if drawn out in the correct logical form, would stand thus, " All tyrants deserve death ; but Cicsar is a tyrant, therefore Cajsar deserves death." But in the rapid diction of oratory, or poetry, it would probably be expressed either, •' All tyrants deserve death, therefore so does Caesar ;" in which case the minor pre- miss, " Caesar is a tyrant," is suppressed : or, " Csesar is a tyrant therefore he de- serves death." by .suppressing the major premi.^s. Instances may be cited in which the enthymemo consists merely of one of the premisses expressed, while both the other premiss and the conclusion are to he su)i])li('d by a rapid exercise of thought. Thus in the well-known words, '' But Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man," the last of these propositions contains a complet^e argument, — " what honorable men say is to be believed : Brutus is an honorable man, therefore what Brutus says is to be believed." ENTl'EKTIE, or ENTIRETY, in law, the whole of a thing, in distinction from a moiety : thus a bond, damages, &c., are said to be entire, when they canujt be apportioned. ENTRE METS, small plates, or dain- ties, set between the principal dishes at table. — In music, the inferior and lesser movements inserted in a composition be- tween those of more importance. ENTREPAS', m horsemanship, is a short broken pace, nearly resembling an amble. ENTREPOT', a warehouse or maga- zine for the deposit of goods. ENTKY', in law, the act of taking possession of lands. — In commerce, the act of setting down in an account-book the particulars of trade; as make an entry of that sale, debt, or credit. Book- keeping is performed either by single or double entry — Entry, at the custom- house, the exhibition or depositing of a ship's papers in the hands of the proper officers, and obtaining permission to land the goods. ENU CLEATE, to open as a nucleus ; to clear from knots or lumps; hence, to explain, or clear from obscurity. ENUMERATION, an account of sev- eral things, in which mention is made of every particular article. — Enumeration, in rhetoric, is that part of a peroration in which the orator recapitulates the principal points or heads of the discourse or argument. EN \T 'RONS, the parts or places which surround another pLoce ; as the enrii-ons of a city or large town. EN'VOY, a person deputed by govern- ment to negotiate some affair with any foreign prince or state. There are en- voys ordinary and extraordinary, as well as ambassadors; they are equally the same under the protection of the law of nations, and enjoy all the privileges of ambassadors, but, being in rank below them, they are Jiot treated with equal ceremony. The word envoy is also some- times ap|)lied to resident ministers. EN'VY, a feeling that springs from pride or disappointed ambition, excited by the sight of another's superiority or success, accompanied with some degree of malignity, and usually with a desire to dejireciato him. E' PACTS, in chronology, the e.xcewei KPl] AND THE B'INE ARTS. 209 of the solar month above the lunar synod- ical month, and of the solar ycnr above the lunar year of twelve synodical months. The cpat'ts, then, are either annual or monthly. Sujipose the new moon to be on the 1st of January : since the lunar month is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 3 seconds, and the month of January con- tains 31 days ; the monthly epact is 1 day, 11 hours, 15 minutes, 57 seconds. The an- nual epact is nearly 11 days ; the Julian solar year being 365 days, 6 hours ; and the Julian lunar year 354 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes, 38 seconds. In the ordinary tables of the church calendar the epacts are given only for a single century ; but as the (jregorian calendar now in use de- fines precit) fulfils the conditions of an epic. The poem of Dante, however sublime in style, has no unity of event or action : those of Ariosto, and the other Romanzieri. form a class distinguished from the epic by the mixture of the seri- ous auii ludicrous. The old German and Spanish national poems, — the Romance of t'te Cid, and the Nicbelungen-Ijied, especially the latter, which is closely confined to the conduct of one great ac- tion, — although the work of writere un- skilled in classical literature, deserve the title of epic as truly as those of Ilomer. EP'ICEXE, in grammar, an epithet for the gender of such words as are com- mon to both sexes. EPICHIRE'MA, in logic, a mod*^ of reasoning, which comprehends the pi oof of one or both the premises of a syllo gism, befiire the conclusion is drawn. EPICHIROTONIA, in Grecian an- tiquity, the annual ceremony of revising the laws, which was instituttd by Solon. They gave their votes by holding up their hands : hence the name. EPICITHARIS'MA, in the ancient dramn, the last part of the interlude, or a flourish of music after the play was over. EPIC REPRESENTA'TION, the Epos or epic poem, relates a grand event on which important consequences depend. In plastic art, reliefs on walls, and friezes, and encaustic, and fresco-painting which can be executed on large surfaces as well as oil-paintings, by which a considerable space on canvas may be filled, are pe- culiarly adapted for the representation of an Epos, or of a great action. But the artist has not, like the poet, the power of representing in connection, those consequences of single events, scones, &c., which form the whole. The limits of connection (with the poet of- ten only single words, clever phrases, or striking transition*) are denied to the artist, and he must therefore limit him- self to the means at his command, of showing in the clearest manner possible, the point of the event from which its con- sequences are developed. The plastic artist can and may depict the moment of an event or a scene, including several events which he may define or suggest. To choose this moment rightly, to draw strikingly, and to execute intelligibly, is the important task, in the performance of which the true master and epic artist are seen. The epic picture, whether it belong to plastic work or painting, is thus the representation of an important action of human life, of ancient or modern times, of distant or neighboring nations, of events which have happened or which have been invented. It must in e'v My EPiJ AND THE FINE ARTS. 2U cas3 ^e true or probable, i. e., belonging to history anl reality, or possible ; iu olh'jr words, the circumstances to be rep- ro.-enJe I must be brought out cjnt'oruia- bly to Nature anj Art, anJ have nothing coutraJictory ia themselves. The epic work, of Art, is always only a fragment (thougii ail important oae) of a classic or romantic, of a more or less historical, or of a pure poetic epos, often the quin- tessence of an epos, but never the epos itself. The plastic descriptive work of Art is thus limite 1 to the poetical im- port lut event, but is in its limitation the utmost concentration of history, while it brings forward a principal action, with a short but clear glance of the most im- portant preceding' and succeeding cir- cumstances, so that all forms are arrang- ■^d in action in their due relation to each other, or to the principal point of the picture. If this be undertaken with genius and happily execute 1 by a mas- terly hand, the whole will not only at- tract the ej^e of the spectator, as a har- monious grouping of different details, rich in refereuoes, and finding a centre point of union and conclusion, but will rivet his attention. EPICTE'TIAX, pertaining to Epicte- tus, the .Stoic philosopher; a man who ■was held in such high esteem, that it is said his stuly lamp was sold after his death for three thousand drachmas. EPICURE'AXS, a numerous sect of philosophers in Greece and Home : the disciples of Epicurus, who flourished about 300 years B.C. They maintained that sensual pleasure was man's chief fe- licity ; that the world was formed by a concourse of atoms, and not governed by Providence ; that the gods resided in the extramundane spaces, in soft, inactive ease, and eternal tranquillity ; that fu- ture rewards and punishments were idle chimeras ; and that the soul was extin- guished with the body. They are men- tioned in the xviith chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Epicurus himself main- tained a more manly philosophy than the generality of his followers ; he held, in- deed, that pleasure was the chief end of human pursuit ; and this pleasure he placed in an exemption from pain, and a perfect tranquillity of body and mind ; but the means which he pointed out as conducive to this end were prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice, in the uniun of which perfect happiness consists, lie pursued pleasure, therefore, in its mo.?t rational acceptation, and his life seems to have been stained with few vices. The precepts and practices of the Epicu- reans have, however, loaded his memory with unmerited infamy ; and an Epicure- an, according to the perverted meaning of his doctrine, is one who is devoted to sensual enjoyments, particularly those of the table. EPIDE'MIA, in Grecian antiquity, festivals kept in honor of Apollo and Di- ana, at the stated seasons when these dei- ties, who could not be present every- where, were supposed to visit different places, in order to receive the vows of their adorers. EPIDEM'IC, a disease which prevails in a place or tract of country only for a temporary period, or that attacks many people at the same season. There are some epidemics which prevail every year, and which are produced by the various changes of the seasons. Thus, the spring is accompanied by inflammatory diseases ; summer by complaints in the stomach and bowels ; autumn by catarrhs ; and winter by intermittents. An epidemic at its commencement is usually mild, and becomes more dangerous as it spreads ; but as it goes off, it again generally as- sumes a mild form. Epidemics are not originally contagious ; it is only under particular circumstances, especially if the disorder is a violent one, and many pa- tients are crowded into a small room, so as to form a corrupt atmosphere about the sick, that contagion takes place. That which is frequently ascribed to contagion, is only the consequence of a violent shock of the nervous system at the sight of a sick person, perhaps in a loathsome state, whereby the disease, to which the boily was already disposed, is more quickly de- veloped. It is essential to the medical notion of an epidemic that it be of a tem- porary, in contradistinction to a perma- nent character. It differs from endemic, inasmuch as the latter class of diseases are of a permanent nature, and prevail only among certain people, and in certain districts. EPIG'ONI, the collective appellation of the sons of the seven Greek princes who conducted the first war against Thebes without success. The war subsequently undertaken by the Epigoni to avenge the defeat of their forefathers is celebrated in history. Their capture of Thebes forms the theme of Wilkie's epic poem, the Epigoniad, which was published about the mid'Ue of the last century, and pro- cured for its author great reputation. EP'IGRAM, in poetry, a short poem or piece in verse, which has only one Bub- 212 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITERATLUE [kpi ject, and finishes by a witty or ingenious turn of thought ; or, to use a more gen- eral definition, an interesting thought represented happily in a few words. The first of these definitions, although tolera- bly aorrect as to the modern epigram, dif- fers, as it will be seen, widely from the original sense of the word in Greek. The Greek epigram was, in the first instance, a short collection of lines actually in- scribed on a monument, statue, fountain, &e. ; and the word was thence transferred to such short poems as might serve for inscriptions : of such the collection termed the Greek epigram is almost wholly composed. Their general characteristic is perfect simplicity, and the seemingly studied absence of that point which char- acterizes the modern epigram. They are almost wholly in one form of metre, the elegiac. In the poetry of classical Rome, the term epigram was still somewhat in- discriminately used to designate short pieces in verse; but the works of Catul- lus, and still more the well-known col- lection of the Epigrams of Martial, con- tain a great number which present the modern epigrammatic character : and Martial has, in fact, alTorded the model on which the modern epigram has been framed. In this class of composition, and especially where the turn of thought is satirical, the French writers have been far more successful than those of any other nation ; and the term " piquant" seems expressly invented to designate the peculiar force of those epigrammatic sal- lies of fancy of which their literature is full. EPIGRAPH, also termed motto. In literature, a citation from some author, or a sentence frame I for the purpose, placed at the commencement of a work or of its separate divisions. EP' I LOG UK, in the drama, a speech addressed to the audience when the play is ended. In the modern tragedy the epilogue is usually smart and lively, in- tended, probably, to compose the passions raised in the course of the representa- tion ; but it has been compared to a merry jig upon the organ, after a good sermon, to wipe away any impression that might have been made by it. and send the congre- gation away Just as they came. — In rhet- oric, the conclusion of a speecli, contain- ing a roeapitubition of the whole. EPINI'CIOX, in the Greek and Latin poetry, is a poem or composition cele- brating a victory. Also, a festival on ac- count of a victory. EPIPII'ANY a Christian festivl, ob- served on the sixth oi" January, (the twelfth day after Christmas,) in honor of the appearance of our Saviour to the magi, or wise men, who came to adore him, and bring him presents. The Greek fathers used the word for the aj^earance of Christ in the world. EPIPIIUNE MA, in rhetoric, a sen- tentious e.xclamation or remark, not close- ly connected with the general tenor of the oration, and generally expressed with vehemence. EPlPli ORA, in rhetoric, the emphatic repetition of a word or series of words at the end of several sentences or stanzas. One of the finest instances of this figure in modern oratory occurs in Fox's defence of himself and his measures in the House of Commons after the di.siolution of the Coalition ministry. EPIPLEX'IS, a rhetorical figure, which, by an elegant kind of upbraiding, endeavors to convince. EPIP'LOCE, a rhetorical figure, by which one aggravation, or striking cir- cumstance, is added to another; as, "He not only spared the rebels, but encour- aged them ; not only encouraged them, but rewarded them." EPISCOPACY, a form of church gov- ernment b3' diocesan bishops. EPISCOPA'LIANS, an appellation given to those who adhere to the epis- copal form of church government and discipline. EP'ISODE, in poetry, a separate inci- dent, story, or action, which a poet in- vents, and connects with his principal action, that his work may abound with a greater variety of events : though, iu a more limited sense, all the particular in- cidents of which the action or narration is compounded, are called episodes. In epic poetry, there is much more room for the episode than in dramatic, where the poem is confined to a present action. The term episode has also been trans- ferred to historical painting, in a sense analogous to that which it bears in poe- try. EPIS'TATES, the title of the presi- dents of the two great councils of the Athenians, viz,., the Ecclcsia and the sen- ate of the Five Hundred. They were both respectively elected from the num- ber of the prohodri of the ecclesia and senate, and their office only histed one day. The latter of these two officers had the j)ost of the greatest trust, as in his liands wore i)lacod the keys of the citadel and public treasury. EPISTLE, tlie use of this word is now El'l] AM) TUiC FINK AIMS. 213 confined to the designation of those writ- ten addresses b}' apostoliciil writers to their Christian brethren which are con- tained in the canon of Scripture ; a few others, either sfsurious or of hi^^li anti- quity, although not rec()gnizcme, 7o'.i n c. ; the era of Xabduassar, 74" B c ; the founding of the Persian Etapire, by Cyrus, 5.59 b c. ; the death of Ale.vander, 'i'i.i bc; the death of C:csar, 44 B c ; the birth of Christ, 1, or tbb ooiumencement of the Christian era ; the Hegira of Mahomet, 622 a.d — Th« Christian era, used by aljiost all Chris- tian nations, dates from J.tnunry 1st, th« middle of the fourth year of the 194tb Olympiad, in the 753d of the building («( Home, and 4714th of the Julian period The Christian year, in its division, fol- lows exactly the Roman j'ear, consisting of 365 days for three successive years and of 366 in the fourth year, which is termed leap year. The simplicity of tliij form hf.s brought it into very genera; use, and it is customary- f->r as».ror.i)mer3 and chronologists, in treating of ancient time, to date back in the same order from its commcncercsnt. — -^ee Calen- dar. EP'ODE, in lyric poetry, the third or last part of the odo, the ancient oiie being divided into strophe, antistrophe, anci epode. The word is now used for any little verse or verses, that follow one or more great ones. EPOPEE', or EPOPffi'IA. in poetry, the fable, or subject of an epic poem. EPOP'T.iE, in antiquity, a name given to those who were aduiittei to view thw secrets of the greater mysteries, or ro ligious ceremonies of the Greeks. EPOT'IDE.S, in the naval architecture of the ancients, two thick blocks of woou, one on each side the prow of a galley, for warding off the blows of '.he rostra of the enemy's vessels. EPULO'XES, in Roman antiquity, public officers who assisted at the sacri- fices, and had the care of the epulum, or sacred banquet, co.nmitted to them. EQUALITY, a term of relation be- tween things the same in magnitude, quantity, or quality. Also, the same de- gree of dignity or claims ; as, equality of men, in the scale of being ; an eqiial- ity of rights, &c. EQUANIMITY, that even and calm frame of mind and temper, under good or bad fortune, which is not easily elated or depressed. A truly groat man boars misfortunes with equaniniitij, and carries himself in prosperity without vain exult- ation or excessive joy. EQ UERRY, an officer of state under the master of the horse. There are five equerries, who ride out with her majesty ; for which purpose they give their attend- ance monthly, one at a time, and have S table iir(>videMlo3opher appear to have been written in .ne form of dia- logues, all of which are lost. His esoteric works, we gather from the s3'nonymous ter>u acroamutic, were not intended to su persedc tlic necessity of oral instruction to render Ihem intelligible. This agrees well enough with the brevity, the frequent repetitions, and the perplexed arrange- ment of the works of Aristotle which sur- vive. ES'PION.AOE, a system of employing spies, or secret emissaries, either in mili- tary or political affairs. ESPOUS'ALS, in law, a contract or mutual promise of marriage between a man and woman. ESPLANADE', in fortification, the glacis of the counterscarp, or sloping of 'the parapet of the covered way towards the country. The word is now also used for a sloping walk or promenade. ESPRIT'^DE CORPS, a French phrase, signifying that species of attachment with which persons, more especially military men, are animated to the corps or service to which they belong. ESQUIRE', anciently a shield or ar- mor-bearer ; the person that attended a knight in time of war, and carried his shield. It is now a title given to the sons of knights, or those who serve the king in any worshipful calling, as officers of the king's courts, counsellors at law, Ac. It has, however, become a sort of vague and undefined compliment, placed at the end of a man's name, and may bo regarded more as an expression of respect than anything else. E.S'SAY, in literature, an attempt; a species of composition. In general, this title is given to short disquisitions on subjects of taste, philosophy, or common life. In this sense it has been applied to periodical i)apcr.«, published at regular intervals under a collective name, by one or more writers, containing remarks on topics of the day. or on more serious sub- jects. From th(! appearance of the Tal- ler, in the beginning of the Last century, which was chiefly written by Sir Richard Steele, this species of literature continued to bo a favorite in PIngland for seventy years, and many similar series of essays were produced ; the best of which are united in one collection under the name of The Knglish Essnijists. The most celebrated of these works was the Spec- tator, to which Addison was the best con- tributor ; and next to it the Humbler, published and almost wholly written by Samuel Johnson. The title of essay has been also adopted, by way of indicating diffidence in the completeness of their work, bj' various authors of more ex- tended performances ; as, by Locke {Es- sa'j on the Human Understanding .) ES'SEXCE, in philosophy, a scholastic term, denoting what the Platonists called the idea of a species. The school phi- losophers give two significations of tha word essence : the first denoting the whole essential perfection of a being, and consequently its entity, with all its in- trinsic and necessary attributes taken to- gether; the second denoting the principal or most important attributes of anything. The essences of things were hold by m.any to he uncreated, eternal, and immutable. ESSEXES', a sect among the Jews in ihe time of our Saviour, of whom an ac- count is preserved to us by Josephus and Philo, though they are not mentioned in Scripture. They were few in number, and lived chiefly in solitude, t.aking no part in public affairs, but devoting their lives to contemplation. There were in- deed two classes of them, distinguished as the practical and contemplative, who differed in the degree of strictness and austerity which they observed. They believed in the immortality of the soul, and held the Scripture in the highest reverence ; interpreting it, however, after an allegorical svstem of their own. ESSENTIAL PROP'EKTIE.S, in logic, such as necessarily depend upon, and are connected with, the nature and essence of a thing, in distinction from the accidental. E.SSOIN', in law, an excuse by reason of sickness or any other just cause for one that is summoned to appear and answer an action, Ae.— The first three days of a term are called essoin days, as three d.ays are .allowed for the appearance of suitors. ESTAB'LISIIMENT, in a military sense, the quota of officers and men in an army, regiment, or company, which be- ing much greater in war than in peace, has given rise to the distinctive terms of AVar Establishment and Peace Establish- ment — The word is also used when speak- ing of tho ministers of a church estab- lished by law, as belonging to the Estab- Ushment. ESTAOADE', in the military art, a French word for a dyke, constructed with etyJ ANr) IIIK KINK AHTS. 219 piles in tlie soa, a river, or morass, to oppose the entry of troops. ESTAFET'TK, a military courier, sent from one part of an army to another; or a speedy messenger who travels on horse- back. ESTATE', in law, the title or interest that a person has in lands, tenements, or other effects; comprehending the whole in which a person has any property. Es- tates are either real or personal; other- wise distinguished into freeholds, which descend to heirs; or chattels and eflects, which go to executors or administrators. There are also estates for life, for years, at will, &c. — Estates of the realm are the distinct parts of any state or govern- ment, as the king, lords, and commons, in England. ESTHER, a canonical book of the Old Testament, containing the history of a Jewish virgin, dwelling with her uncle Mordecai at Shushan, in the reign of Aha- suerus, one of the kings of Persia. Arch- bishop Usher supposes Darius Hystaspes to be the Ahasuerus of Scripture, and Artystona to be Esther. Scaliger con- siders him as Xerxes, and his queen Ila- mestris as Esther. Josephus, on the con- trary, asserts that Ahasuerus was Arta- xerxes Longimanus; and the Septuagint, throughout the whole book of Esther, translates Ahasuerus by Artaxer.Kes. ES'TIMATE, a judgment or opinion formed of the value, degree, extent, or quantity of anything, without ascertain- ing it. Also a computation of probable value or cost, such as is generally pre- pared by engineers, architects, and build- ers, previous to the commencement of any imdertaking. ESTO'VERS, in law, a reasonable al- lowance out of lands or goods for the sub- sistence of a man accused of f'elony^, du- ring his imprisonment. But it is more generally taken for certain allowances of wood made to tenants, and called, from the S:ixon. house-bote, hedge-bote, plougk- bote. &c. ESTRAY', a tame beast found without any owner known, which, by the English law if not reclaimed within a year and a day, falls to the lord of the manor. ESTRE.\T', in law, a true copy or duplicate of an original writing, partic- ularly of the penalties or fines to be levied by the bailiff or other Officer, of every man for his offence. • ET CETERA, and the contraction ttc. or tf'c, denote the rest or others of the kind ; and so forth. ETCH ING, a method of engraving on copper or steel, in which the lines antl strokes are oaten in with aquafortis. See ICXGRAVIXG. ETERNITY, everlasting duration, without beginning or end; a term ex- pressive of that perpetuity which can only be imagined, on account of the im- possibility of conceiving when time was not, or will not be ; hence many have concluded that there has been an eter- nity of past time, and must be an eter- nity of future time. ETHICS, the doctrine of manners, or science of moral philosoph}', which teach- es men their duty and the springs and principles of human conduct. ETHNOGRAPHY, the science which treats of the particularities of nations, de- scribing their customs, peculiarities, Ac. Although a peculiar name has been given to it, it is in general considered as a branch of the sciences of geography and history. ETIOL'OGY, an account of the causes of anvthing, particularly of diseases. ETIQUETTE, is the ceremonial code of polite life, more voluminous and minute in each portion of society according to its rank. The word is derived from the cus- tom of arranging places at processions, &c. bj' tickets delivered beforehand to appli- cants. The Byzantine court appears to have carried the practicp of ceremonial observations to the most inconvenient anil ludicrous extent. But of modern courtly etiquette, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, is regarded by some as the founder. His desire to conceal his in- feriority in rank, as a great feudatory only, to the great sovereigns of Europe, whom he equalled in power, induced him to surround his presence with a multi- tude of officers and numberless formali- ties. At no time, probably, was the spirit of etiquette so predominant and so tyrannical as in the court of Louis XIV. ; and the Memoirs of St. Simon are full of the most extraordinary proofs of the subjugation of the minds of men of sense, wit, and even independent character in other respects, to its engrossing influ- ence, — their pride in attaining any littla point of precedence, and their mortifica- tion in failing of it. The smaller courts of Germany caricatured the ceremonial of that of the Great Monarch, and carried its strictness to an absurd extent. At the present day the ancient etiquette of courts is continually losing something of its strictness. ETYMOL'OGY. a branch of philology, which teaches the origin and derivation 220 CVCLOI'EDIA OF LITERATURE [eva of words, with a, view to ascertain their radicnl or primary signification. In gram- mar, it comprehends not only the deriva- tion of words, but their various inflections and modifications. One who is well versed in the deduction of word.s from their originals, is called an elyinologist. EU'CHAKIST, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper ; so called because the death of our Redeemer is thereby com- memorated with thankful remembrance, and bread and wine are taken as emblems oi his flesh and blood. EUCHOL'OGY, a book of prayers; synonymous, in the phraseology of the Koman Catholic church, with missal or breviary. EU'CRASY, an agreeable, well-pro- portioned mixture of qualities, by which a body is said to be in good order, and disposed for a good state of health. EU1IARM02^'IC, in music, producing harmony or concordant sounds. EU'LOGY, in a general sense, an en- comium pronounced on any person for his meritorious or virtuous qualities ; but, in a more restricted meaning, it was used in ecclesiastical history to denote any present bestowed on the church after having been blessed or hallowed. EU'NOMY, equal law, or a well-ad- justed constitution of government. EUPA'TRID^, in ancient history, the nobles of Attica, in whose hands in early times all the power of government was vested, in consequence of which the lower orders sunk into a low state of degrada- tion, being particularly oppressed by their debts which the pressure of their circumstances compelled them to incur, and which, if not paid, gave the creditor power over the bodies and liberties of tlie debtor and his family. These evils were remedied by the legislation of Solon, who reduced the interest of debts, and deprived the creditor of his power over the body of the debtor, and at the same time threw the judicial and much of the legislative power into the hands of the peoj)le at large. The alterations in the constitution of Athens, subsequent to tho time of Solon, by degrees de])rived the Eupa- tridie of- all their political privileges, and finally established an unmixed de- mocracy. EU'PEPSY, in medicine, good con- coction in tho stomach; perfect digestion. EU'PIIEMISM, in rhetoric, a figure by which things in themselves disagree- able and shocking, arc expressed in terms neither offensive to good manners nor re- pulsive to "ears polite." EU PHONY, an easy and smooth enun- ciation of words. A grammatical license, whereby a letier that is too harsh is con- verted into a smoother, contrary to tlfe ordinary rules, for the purpose of pro- moting smoothness and elegance in the pronunciation. EU'RITHMY, in architecture, paint- ing, and sculpture, is a certain majesty, elegance, and ease in the various parts of a body, arising from its just propor- tions. — In medicine, eurithmy signifies a good disposition of the pulse. EUSTA TIIIANS, a sect of Christians, the followers of Eustathius, an Armenian bishop in the fourth century, who, under pretence of great purity and severity, in- troduced many irregularities. EU'STYLE, in architecture, a sort of building in which the columns are plaoed at the most convenient distances from each other, most of the intercolumnia- tions being just two diameters and a quarter of the column. EUTER'PE, one of the muses, con- sidered as presiding over music, because the invention of the ilute is ascribed to her. She is usually represented as a virgin crowned with flowers, having a flute in her hand, or with various instru- ments about her. As her name denotes, she is the inspirer of pleasure. EUTYCIIIANS, a religious sect in the fifth century, called after one Eu- tyclius, who maintained, among other tilings, that the flesh of Christ differed in its nature from that of mankind. EUTIIANA'SIA, or EUTIIAN'ASY, a gentle, easy, hap])y death EVAN'tj EfjIST, a general name given to those who write or preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The word is of (Jreek origin, signifying one who publishes glad tidings, or is tho messenger of ' good news. But it is applied principally to tho writers of tho four (iospels, or Erangcllu, viz. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. — The word also denotes certain ministers in the primitive church, who assisted the Apostles in diffusing the knowledge of the Oospel, and travelled about to execute such commissions as BVlJ AND iHK FINE AKTS. 221 they wore cntrusletl with, for tho ad- Tancoiueiit of Christianity. EVAN'tJELlSTS, in the Fine Arts, on the earliest sculptures the Evangelists are symbolized by four scrolls, or, with reference to tiic four streams of ParaJiso, by four rivers flowing down from a hill, on which stands a Cross and the Lamb, the MONOGRAM of Christ. They were af- terwanls represented as the forms out of Ezekicl, vii. 1-10, viz., a man, a lion, a bull, and an eagle, which are mentioned as supporting the throne of God (Rev. iv. 6-7.) After the fifth century, the By- zantine artists, keeping strictly to bibli- cal terms, represented the Evangelists (at first in mosaic) as miraculous animals, half men and half bensts; they had wings like the Cherubim, and were either in the act of writing or had a scroll before them. The human face was given only to Matthew or Mark, to which of these two was doubtful, even to the time of Jerome, with whom originated the pres- ent appropriation of the attributes ; the other three had the heads of a lion, an ox, and an eagle, with corresponding feet. This representation was customary for some time in the Greek Church. In the latter part of the middle ages the Western Church began to separate the human figure from that of the animal, and to represent the Evangelists only in the former manner, generally as writing, and three of them with the animals by their sides as attributes. The four ani- mals are often represented with scrolls, anciently inscribed with the initial sen- tences of each Gospel. In later exam- ples the names of the Evangelists are in- scribed on the scrolls. In sepulchral brasses the Evangelistic symbols are found variously arranged, but they are most frequently placed so as to follow the same order. According to St. Je- rome's arrangement St. Matthew had a man or angel by his side, because his Gospel begins with a genealogy showing the human descent of Christ. St. Mark has a lion, the symbol of the royal dig- nity of the Saviour, and referring to the desert (Mark i. 13) in which he was with wild beasts. St. Luke has the ox, tho symbol of the high priesthood, because histjospel begins with the history of Zach- arias serving in the temple. St. John has the eagle, the emblem of the divinity of Christ, and referring to the doctrine of the LiOgox. with which his Gospel com- mences. Christ was thus syuibolizeil by the Evangelists, as Man. King, High Priest, and God. Tho Eva.vgei,istic Symbols arc found variously employed in Christian edifices and ornaments of every period in the history of Art, and they are introduced in Christian design un(ier a great variety of place and cir- cumstance, e. g. most appropriately on books of the Holy Gospels, enamelled in silver and set on the angles of tho covers ; on crosses, as being the four great wit- nesses of the doctrine of the Cross. For the same reason, on the four gables of Cruciform Churches ; also in cross front- als for altars ; at the four corners of monumental stones and brasses in testi- mony of the faith of the deceased in the Gospel of Christ ; around images of tho Majesty, the Holy Trinity, Agnus Dei, Crucifixion, Resurrection, whether paint- ed on glass, or ceilings and wall, or em- broidered on vestments or altar-cloths, iis the sacred mysteries represented are described in tho Holy Gospels. EVA'S ION, the act of eluding or es- caping from the pressure of an argument, or from an accusation, charge, or inter- rogatory. EVA'TBS, a branch of the Druids, or ancient Celtic philosophers. Strabo di- vides the British and Gaulic philosophers into three sects, Bards, Evates, and Dru- ids. He adds, that the Bards were the poets and musicians ; tho Evates, the priests and naturalists ; and tho Druids were moralists as well as naturalists. EVE'NING, or EVE, the precise lime when evening begins is not ascer- tained by usage. In strictness, evening commences at the setting of tho sun, and continues during twilight, and (liV/ii com- mences with total darkness. But it sometimes includes a portion of the after- noon ; as in the phrase, " the morning and evening service of the church ;" and in customary language it extends to bod- time ; as "I spent the evening with a friend." — Figuratively, we use it for the decline of life, or old ago ; as " tho eve- 7iing of life." EVIDENCE, in its most general sense, moans the proofs which establish, or have a tendency to establish, any facts or conclusions. It may be divided into three sorts, mathematical, moral, and legal. The first is employed in the dem- onstrations which belong to pure math- ematics; the second is employed in the general affairs of life, and in those roa- s:)nings which are applied to convince the understanding in cases not admitting of strict demon.stration ; tho third is that which is employed in judicial tribunals for the purpose of deciding upon the 222 cvcLnrfc:DiA ok literature [exc rights and wrongs of litigants. Accord- ing to our system of jurisprudence in coiunion law trials, it is the peculiar pro- vince of a jury to decide all matters of fact. The verdict of tlic jury is, however, to be given, and the trial is to be had, in the presence of a judge or judges, who preside at the trial, and are bound to de- cide all matters of law, arising in the course of the trial. Whenever, therefore, a question arises, whether anything of- fered as proof at such trial is or is not proper to go before the jury as evidence, that question is to be decided by the court, and, unless permitted by the court, it can never legally come before the con- sideration of the jury. Hence, whatever is so permitted to be brought before the jury, for the purpose of enabling them to decide any matter of fact in dispute be- tween the parties, is in a legal sense, evi- dence, and is so called in contra-distinc- tion to mere argument and comment. This gives rise to a very important dis- tinction, at the common law, as to the competency and the credibility of evi- dence. It is competent, when by the principles of law, it is admissible to es- tablish any fact, or has any tendency to prove it. It is credible, when, being in- troduced, it affords satisfactory proof of the fact. It follows, therefore, that evi- dence may be competent to be produced before a jury, when it may nevertl>eless not amount to credible proof, so as to sat- isfy the minds of the jury; and, on the other hand, it may be such as, if before them, would satisfy their minds of the truth of the fact, but yet, by the rules of law, it is not admissible. Whether there is any evidence of a fact, is a question for the court; whether it is sufflclent, is a question for the jury. E'VIL, in philosophy, Ac. is either moral or natural. Moral evil is any de- viation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him. Scuuo make the essence of moral evil consist in the disagreement of our manners to the divine will, whether known by reason or revelation ; others, in being contrary to reason and truth; and others, in being inconsistent with the nature, faculties, affections, and situation of mankind. EVOCA'TI, soldiers among the Ro- mans, who having served their full time in the army, went afterwards volunteers at the request of some favorite general ; on which account they were called by the honorable names of hrxcriti and Beneji- ciaril. EV'OCA'TION. in P.o.uan antiquity, a solemn invitation or prayer to the goda of a besieged town, to forsake it and come over to the besiegers. EVOH'TIOX, in military tactics, the complicated movement of a body of men when they change their position by countermarching, wheeling, &c. E'VOV^E, in music, the vowels used with the ending notes of the ecclesiastical tones: it is a word, for brevity's sake, formed of the si.x vowels in the words scBculorum amen, which are subjoined to the notes in Antiphonaries, &c., to indi- cate that those are the ending notes. EXAGGERA'TIOX, in rhetoric, akind of hyperbole, whereby things are aug- mented or amplified, by saj'ing more than the strict truth will warrant.— In paint- ing, a method of giving a representation of tilings too strong for the life. EXALTA'DOS, in Spanish history, the name of the party attached the liberal system of politics, corresponding to the '' extreme gauche" of the French, or Whig radicals, in English politics. EXAMIXA'TIOX, in its primary sense, is a careful and accurate inspec- tion or inquirj', in order to discover the real state of anything. — In judicial pro- ceedings, an attempt to ascertain truth, generally on the oath of the pfirty ex- amined, by interrogatories. — In schools, an inquiry into the acquisitions of the students, by questioning them in litera- ture and the sciences, or by hearing their recitals. EXAMINERS, in law, two officers in the court of Chancery, who are appointed on oath, to examine witnesses on either side. EX'ARCII, in antiquity, an officer sent by the emperors of the East into Italy, as prefect or governor. — Exarch also de- notes an officer still subsisting in the Greek church, who visits the provinces, in order to see whethec the bishops and clergy do their duty. EXAUCTORA'TION, or EXAUTIIO- RA'TION, in Roman antiquity, tempo- rary dismi.ssion from service : thus the «.T- auctori milites were deprived of their pay and arms, without being absolutely dis- charged. EXCALCEA'TION, among the He- brews, was a law, whereby a widow, whom her husband's brother refused to marry, liad a riglit to summon him to a court of justice, and, upon his refusal, might excalccnte him, that is, pull off one of his shoes, and si)it in his face ; both of which were considered actions of great ignominy. EXC] AND THE FINE ARTS. EXCA'TlIEDrxA, a Latin phrase; originally applied to decisions remlcrcl by prelates, chiefly popes, from their ca- thedra or chair: i. e. in a solemn judi- cial manner. Hence applied to every decision pronounced by one in the exercise of his peculiar authority : a professor in his lecture room, a judge from the bench, dte. EX'CELLEXCY, a title of honor for- merly given to kings and emperors, but now given to governors, ambassadors, &e. who are elevated by virtue of particular offices. The title of e.xcellency is in no case hereditary, or transferable from one member to another, but always belongs to the office, and is only borne, on the European continent, by ministers in ac- tual service, by the highest court and military dignitarie.-J, and by ambassadors and plenipotentiaries. Foreign minis- ters are addressed by the title of your excellency, by way of courtesy, even if they have no rank which entitles them to this distinction; but charge cVaffaires never receive the title. EXCH.A.XGE', in commerce, traffic by permutation, or the act of giving one thing or comraolity for another. The receipt or payment of money in one country for the like sum in another, by means of bills of exchange. Thus, A in London, is creditor to B in Xew York, to the amount of 100/. C in London is debtor to D in New York, in a like sum : by the operation of the bill of exchange, the London creditor is paid by the Lon- don debtor, and the Xew York ere litor is paid by the Xew York debtor ; and, con- sequently, two debts are paid, though no specie is sent from London to Xew York, or from Xew York to London. ' This is the principle of a bill of exchange; and the great convenience here represented is the foundation of exchange itself. That variation above and below par, which is called the course of exchange, results from the same causes that act upon the price of commodities of every other kind. If bills upon Xew York be scarce, that is, if New York is but little indebted to London, the London creditor, who wants bills on Xew York to remit to that city, is obliged to purchase them dearly; then the course of exchange is above par : If, on the other hand, London owes less to New York than Xew York owes to London, Xew York bills will be propor- tionably plenty, and the exchange with that city beloic par. Hence, it is a max- im that, when the course of exchange tises above par, the balance of trade runs against the country where it rises. In London, bills of exchange are bought and sold by brokers, who go round to the prin- cipal merchants, and discover whether they are buyers or sellers of bills. A few of the brokers of most influence, after ascertaining the state of the relative sup- ply of and demand for bills, suggest a price at which the greater part of the transactions of the day are settled, with such deviations as particulax bills, from their being in very high or low credit, may be subject to. In London and other great commercial cities, a class of middle- men speculate largely on the rise and fall of the exchange, buying bills when they expect a rise, and selling them when a fall is anticipated. — Exchange, in arith- metic, is the finding what quantity of the money in one place is equal to a given sum of another, according to a certain course of exchange. — Course of exchange is the current price betwixt two places, whi^h is always fluctuating and unset- tled. — Arbitration of exchange is a cal- culation of the exchanges of different places to discover which is the most prof- itable. — Exchange of prisoners, in war, the act t)f giving up men on both sides, upon certain conditions agreed to by the ^ contending parlies. j EXClIAXitE', (often contracted into j Change,) signifies a building or other ; place in considerable trading cicies, where ' the merchants, agents, bankers, brokers, and other persons concerned in commerce, meet at certain times, to confer and treat tog(jther of matters relating to ex- changes, remittances, payments, adven- tures, assurances, freights, and other mercantile negotiations both by sea and : land. i EXCHEQ'UER, in British jurispru- ' denee, an ancient court of record, in which all causes concerning the revenues and rights of the crown are heard and deter- mined, and where the crown-revenue?, are received. It took this name from the cloth that covered the table of the court, which was party-colored or chequered. ; This court is said to have been erected by William the Conqueror. — The public Exchequer is unler the control of the lords of the Treasury, and of a minister called the chanceC-r of the exchequer. — To institute a process against a person in this court, is called to exchequer him. EXCHEQTEK-BILL.S, bills for mon- ey, or promissory notes, issued from the exchequer, under the authority of govern- ment, and bearing interest. EXCISE', an inland duty, paid in some 224 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITR;; \TL RK instp.nces upon the commodity consumed, or on the retail, which is the last stage before consumption ; but in others this duty is paid at the manufactories. The excise was first introduced in England by the parliament which beheaded Charles I. and its great founder was Mr. Pjnn ; and is now one of the most considerable branches of the national revenue. It was formerly farmed out, but is at pres- ent managed for the government by com- missioners, who receive the whole pro- duct of the excise, and pay it into the exchequer. — The officer who inspects ex- cisable commodities and rates the duties on them is called an exciseman. EXCLAMA'TION, emphatical utter- ance ; or the sign by which emphatical utterance is marlied : thus (!). — In gram- mar, a word expressing some passion, as wonder, fear, &c. EXCOMMUNICA'TION. an ecclesias- tical censure, whereby a person is ex- cluded from communion with the church, and deprived of some civil rights. In the present state of church-government in England, excommunication is seldom used but as a sort of writ of outlawry on contempt of the bishop's court, in the sev- eral descriptions of causes that belong to ecclesiastical jurisdiction. It is published in the church, and if the offender does not submit in forty days, the civil magistrate interposes, and the excommunicated per- son is imprisoned till he submits, and ob- tains absolution. — The Roman Catholics use the phrase fulminating an excom- munication, to signify the solemn pro- nouncing of an excommunication after several admonitions. Tliis fulmination principally consists of curses, execrations, and other ceremonies ; and is called ar?a- thema — Kxcommunication amongst the Jews was of three kinds or degrees. The first was called Niddui, and was a sepa- ration for a few days. The second was Cherem, and was a separation attended with execration and malediction ; the third was Shamtnafka, and was the last and greater excommunication. — Kxcom- vianication amongst the (ireeks and Ro- mans cxclude(l the person, on whom it was pronounced, from the sacrifices au'l tem- ples, nii'l delivered him over to the Fnriefi. EXCIJ'i'I^I";, in antiquity, the watches and guards kept in the day by the Ro- mans, in distinction from vigilite, which wer(^ liefit at night. EX'E.VT, in ecclesiastical history, a term employed in the permission which a bishop grants to a priest to go out of bis diocese. EXECU'TION, in law, the completing or finishing some act, as of judgment or deed, and it usually signifies the obtain- ing possession of anything received by judgment of law. Also, the carrying into ctfect a sentence or judgment of eimrt; as the infliction of capital punishment. — Execution, in painting, is the term given to the peculiar mode of working for ef- fect — the manipulation peculiar to each individual artist ; where it predominates over finish, or where execution exhibits a studied eccentricity, it degenerates into mannerism, which, when it merely ex- hibits the manual dexterity of the artist, is usually the exponent of mediocrity : at the same time it must be admittcl, that good execution is always aimed at by the true artist. All qualities of execution, properly so called, are influenced by, and in a great degree dependent on, a far higher power than that of more execution — knowledge of truth. For exactly in proportion as an artist is certain of his end, will he be swift and simple in his means; and as he is accurate and deep in his knowledge, will he be refined and pre- cise in his touch. EXECU'TIONER, the officer who in- flicts capital punishment in pursuance of a legal warrant; the common hangman. EXECUTIVE, in politics, that branch of the government which executes the functions of governing the state. The word is used in distinction from legisla- tive uml judicial. The body that deliber- ates and enacts laws, is legislative ; the body that judges or applies the laws to particular cases, is judicial; and the body that carries tlie laws into effeot, or super- intends the enforcement of them, is ex- ecutive. In all monarchical states this power rests in the prince. EXECUTOR, in law, a person appoint- ed by anotlier's last will and testament, to have the execution of the same after his decease, and the disposing of the tes- tator's goods and effects, according to the intent of the will. EXECUTORY, in law, signifies that which is to take effect on a future con- tingency; as an e.rerutnnj devise or re- mainder. EXE'T>R.T;, in antiquity, a general name f'm- such buildings as were distinct from the miiin body of tlie churches, and yet witliin tiio limits of the consecrated ground. EXEOESrS, a discourse intended to explain or illustrate a subject. The terra is applied most usually to the exposition or interpretation of the Holy Scriptures KXI AND TIIK FINE ARTS. 225 This department of biblical learning has been most assiduously cultivated in mod- ern times, especially by the Germans, as the writings of Miehaclis, Schleusner, lloscnmiiller, Gescnius, Ac, amply testify. EXEMPLAR, a pattern or model ; the ideal model which an artist attempts to imitate. That which serves as a model for imitation, or as a warning for others, is termed exemplary ; as, exeniplaryt jus- tiee ; exempla ry punishment. EXEtiUA'TUll, an official recognition of a person in the character of consul or commercial agent, authorizing him to ex- ercise his powers. EX'ERCISE, the exertion of the body, for health, amusement, labor, or the at- tainment of any art. Exercise increases the circulation of the blood, attenuates and divides the fluids, and promotes a regular perspiration, as well as a due se- cretion of all the humors ; for it acceler- ates the animal spirits, and facilitates their distribution into all the fibres of the body, strengthens the parts, creates an appetite, and heli>s digestion. Whence it arises, that those who accustom them- selves to exercise are generally very ro- bust, and seldom subject to diseases. It should never be forgotten by those of studious habits, that the delicate springs of our frail machines lose their activity, and the vessels become clogged with ob- structions, when we totally desist from exercise ; from which consequences arise which necessarily affect the brain ; a mere studious life is therefore equally prejudi- cial to the body and the mind. We may further observe, that an inclination to study ought not to be carried to the ex- tent of aversion to society and motion. The natural lot of man is to live among his fellows ; and whatever may be his sit- uation in the world, there are a thousand occasions wherein his physical energies may be rendered serviceable to his fel- low-creatures, as welL as to himself. Many rational causes have therefore giv- en rise to the practice of particular exer- cises ; and those legislators who deserve to be called the most sagacious and be- nevolent, have instituted opportunities for enabling youth who devote themselves to study, to become expert also in lauda- ble exercises. — Mental exercise is the ex- ertion of the mind or faculties for im- provement, as in the various branches of literature, art, and science. — Military exercise consists in the use of arms, in marches, evolutions, &c. — Naval exercise consists in the management of artillery, and in the evolutions of fleets. 15 EXER'GUE, a term used by medallists to denote the little space around and without the work or figures of a medal for an inscription, turo is as unknown to us as that of fire was to tlie ancients, the sub- stitution of one resentatives of these flats and shari)S. Tlie system, however, docs npt strictly produce what it represents : it is only an approximation. FL.\T FIFTH, in music, an interval of a fifth depressed by a flat, called by the ancients seviidiapcnte. FLEECE, ORDER OF THE GOLDEN, one of the most distinguished among Eu- ropean orders of knighthood. It was founded by Philip III., duke of Burgun- dy, in 1430; and as by its foundation his successors were declared to be hereditary grand masters, that title passed, with the Burgundian inheritance, to the house of Austria ; thence after the death of Charles v., to the Spanish line of that house : but when the monarchy of Spain passed to the Bourbons and the Spanish Nether- lands to Austria, the archdukes of Austria claimed the grand mastership ; and claims are made on it at present both by the emperor of Austria and king of Spain; the order is consequently conferred both at Vienna and Madrid, and is, in both courts, the highest in point of rank. As its nominal object is the protection of re- ligion, it is rareU' conferred on any Prot- estants, with the exception, by courtesy, of Protestant sovereigns. FLEET, a squadron of ships of war, belonging to any jirincc or state. It also denotes any number of trading ships, employed in a particular branch of com- merce. Merchant-fleets generally take their denr>mination from tiie )ilace tliey are bound to, as the Turkey-fleet, East- India-fleot, Ac. These, in times of peace, go in fleets for their mutual aid and as- sistance : in time of war, besides this se- curity, they procure convoys of men of war, either to escort them to the places whither they are bound, or to a certain place or latitude. — It is also the name of a prison in London, where debtors are confined ; and to which persons are com- mitted by the courts of chancery and common-pleas. FLEM'ISit SCHOOL, in painting, the school formed in Flanders. The works of this school are distinguished by th^ most perfect knowledge of chiaro-scuro ; high finishing without dryne.«s ; by an admirable union of colors well blended and contrasted, and by a flowing, luxuri- ous ])encil. Its defects arc somewhat similar to those of the Dutch school. The Flemish painters, like the Dutch, rep- resented nature as they found her, and not as she should be. Rubens and Van- FLo] AND TilK KINK ARTS. 247 dyke, (the glorj- of this school,) though men of the greatest geiiuij, were not tVee from this defect, and the former espe- cially. Teniers w.is another groat mas- ter of the school in question ; to it also bc- long.s Siiydors, Steonvvick, ^nsidered to bo flee.ing and temporary. FU'GLEMAN, or FLU'GELMAN, a non-commissioned officer, appointed to take his place in front of a regiment as a guide to the soldiers in their move- ments of the drill. The word is derived from the German flligel, a trlng'. FUGUE, in music, a piece of compo- sition in which the different parts follow each other, each repeating in order what the first had performed. FUNCTION, any office, ccies of tenure prevailed in England before the Norman conquest, in many parts of the kingdom, perhaps in the whole realm; but particularly in Kent, where it still e.vists. GA'VOT, in music, an air for a dance, which has two strains ; the first having usually four or eight bars, and the second eight or twelve more, each of which are played twice over. It is of a brisk nature. GAZETTE', a periodical paper, pub- lished at short intervals, containing arti- cles of general intelligence. In Europe such sheets were generally termed AI<;r- curies in the first times of their inven- tion, and appeared only occasionally ; the earliest were published daring the gen- eral apprehensions from the presence of the Spanish armada, but some doubt has been lately thrown on the authenticity of the s|iecitn('ns preserved in the British Museum. Tiie first gazette produced in France (under that title) was in 1631 : the first in England in 1665, when the court resided at O.vford on account of the plague in Lonilon. From that period the Gazette has regularly ajjpeared twice a week, containing such notifications as are either published by the court or the gov- ernment, or such as are authoritatively required by law in private transactions j The name Gazette is said to be derived ] from Gazetta, a small Venetian coin, being the price that w.is paid for one of the Hying sheets of commercial and mili- tary information (notizie scritte,) which were first published by that republic iu 1563. GAZETTEER', a topographical work, alphabetically arranged, containing a brief description of empires, kingdoms, cities, towns, and rivers. It may either incluile the whole world, or be limited to a particular country. The first work of this kind, with which we are acquainted, is that of Stephen of Byzantium, who lived in the beginning of the sixth cen- tury. GAZONS', in fortification, pieces of fresh earth, covered with grass, and cut in form of a wedge, to line the outsides of works made of earth, as ramparts, parapets, Ac. (iElIEX'XA, a term in .'Scripture, adopted from the usage of the Jews to signify hell or the place of eternal pun- ishment. The word is a slight corruption of Gehinnon, or the Valley of llinnora in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, wherein, at a place named Tophet, it was recorded that certain idolatrous Jews hail sacri- ficed to Moloch. The sewers of the city were emptied into this hollow, and per- petual fires were kept up to consume the noxi(uis matter, and prevent pestilential effluvia. Hence, it is said, the name of the place came to be used metaphorically in the sense above described. From this word seems to be derived the old French gehenne, torture ; and from thence the common word gene, constraint. (JELCSCOPY, a kind of divination drawn from laughter ; or a method of knowing the qualities and character of a person, acquired from the consideration of his laughter. GE.MAR'A, the second part of the Tal- mud or coinmentarv on the Jewish laws. GE.MOXI.E SCA'L.E, in R.uuan anti- quity, a place for executing criminals, situated on the Avcntine mount, or tenth region of the city. tiEMS, the name given to precious stones in general, but more especially to such as by their color, brilliancy, polish, purity, and rarity, are sought after as ob- jects of decoration. Gems of the most valu- able kinds form the i)rincipal part of the crown jewels of sovereign princes, and are esteeineil not merely for their beauty, but as comprising the greatest value in the smallest bulk. Gems are remarkable for their hardness and internal lustre. Un- obn] AND Tfl.'C FrXIC AltTS. 201 der this name are eomprehenile'l the ilia- mond, ruby, sappliiru, hyuuinth, hciyl, garnet, emerali, topaz, cluysolite, &c. To these have been aatin and Greek nouns, which denote po.-isession : it is marked in English by 3 with an apostrojihe, tiius ('s). GE'XirS, an aptitude for a jiarticular jiursuit. founded on some stimulus in youth, by which the mind and faculties are directed to excnllenco. It combines opposite intellectual qualities; the decjt- OKN ANIJ illK FINE ARTS. 2G3 est penetration with tlic liveliest fancy; the greatest quickness with the most in- defatigable (iiiigence. To whiit is old it gives a new form; or it invents new; and its own productions are altogether original. We estimate it higher than talent, in the common acceptaiion of that term, which in the capacity for originat- ing in extent and energy is inferior to genius. Whore ordinary powers advance by slow degrees, genius soars on rapid wings. Cut genius does not assume its distinctive character in every e.xercise of its powers. A gifted poet, for instance, is not necessarily an ingenious philoso- pher, nor does the statesman's genius in- clude that of the soldier. We distinguish this genius, therefore, into various kinds, as poetical, musical, mathematical, mil- itary, &c. ; thus, for example, Milton possessed a genius for poetry, Mozart for music, Newton for mathematics, &c. Yet, although the union of great excellence in different walks of art and science is but rarely found in one man, some, like Michael Angelo, who was equally cele- brated as a statuar}', architect, and pain- ter, are found possessing genius of a most comprehensive character. — By the an- cients the word genius was used to ex- press a supposed invisible spirit which directs a course of events. According to the belief of the Romans, every person had his own genius, that is, a spiritual being, which introduced him into life, accompanied him during the course of it, and again conducted him out of it at the close of his career. This belief was no doubt a consequence of their idea of a divine spirit pervading the whole physi- cal world ; and was probably a personi- fication of the particular structure or bent of mind which a man receives from na- ture. The guardian spirit of a person (a purely Italian idea, which in modern language has been wrongfully transferred to Grecian Art,) is generally represented as a veiled figure in a toga, holding a patera and cornucopia, or as a beautiful youth, nude or nearly so, with the wings of a bird on his shoulders. The guardian spirits of the female sex, junones, are represented as young maidens with the wings of a butterfly or a moth, and drap- ed. The Romans also gave a genius to edifices, towns, armies, and kingdoms. The Roman genius of a jjlace was de- picted as a serpent devouring fruits, which lay before it ; there are, however, many exceptions to these rules. The modern world comprises under the term genii, the angels or messengers of heaven, and those emblematic.il figures, which, as ev- er}'thing was personified in ancient Art, are regarded as the deification of ideas. The most common idea of Christian genii are the patron angel of childhood and of youth, the angel of baptism, those of poverty and mercy, of religion and vir- tue, and the genii of the three Christian graces, faith, hope, and charity. In jn^d- ern times we find the genii of c/untries often personified : the greatest work of this kind is the genius of Bavaria, a bronze female statue of colossal size by Schwanthaler, ^recently completed and placed in front of the Walhalla, near Munich. Modern representations of river gods are only to be regarded as genii when they are executed in the romantic and not in the antique style. GENS, in ancient history, a clan or sect, forming a subdivision of the Roman people next in order to the curia or tribe. The members and houses composing one of these clans were not necessarily united by ties of blood, but were originally brought together by a political distribu- tion of the citizens, and bound by reli- gious rites, and a common name, derived probably from some ancient hero. GENTILES, a name given by the Jews to all who were not of the twelve tribes of Israel. Among Christians, it is the name of all heathens who did not em- brace the Christian faith. GENTLEMAN, in the modern lan- guages of western Europe, we generally find a word to signify a person distin- guished by his standing from the laboring classes, gentiluonio, gentilhomme, hidal- go, &c. In the German language, the term which most nearly expresses the same idea, is gebildet, which includes not only gentlemanly manners, but also a cultivated mind. The English law-books say, that, under the denomination oi gen- tlemen, are comprised all above yeomen; so that noblemen are truly cxWad gentle- men; and further, that a gentleman, in England, is generally defined to be one, who, without any title, bears a coat of arms, or whose ancestors have been free- men : the coat determines whether he i» or is not descended from others of tha same name. In the highest sense, tha term gentleman signifies a man who not only does what is just and right, but whose conduct is guided by a true prin- ciple of honor, which springs from that self-respect and intellectual refinement which manifest themselves in easy and free, vet delicate manners. GENRE-PAINT'liSTG, pictures of lifa 204 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITKUATriiE [gen and manners. Umler tliis title arc com- prised the grave episodes of life, which are to history what a single scene is to a drama, or a Ij'ric to an epic poem. Also comic scenes of every kind ; a comic sub- ject is seldom placed in the highest catn- gorj' of art, because it is the nature of comedy to overstep the strict line of beau- ty and to become caricature. The prin- cipal genre pictures consist of scenes of every-day life, and may bo classified. Those of the Netherlands are the best, and deserve to live ; though far from the ideal of art, they show a skilful execution and lead to higher thoughts. Another kind are the low attempts at coloring called costume or portrait genre pictures, ■which are merely studies. In taking for its subject the events of daily life, genre- painting (unless the subject is eminently suited to the idea) avoids religious themes as high and lasting, as well as historical subjects, which, though transitory, ought never to appear so. A view of an open house, into which the sun is shining, a peasant lighting his pipe, — all the j)ass- ing events of life, its characters and nims, offer fitting subjects for genre-painting. Pure nature, true humanity, national character, as revealed by domestic man- ners, lie, form the circle of true genre- painting, the boundary being more clear- ly defined than is the case in historical or religious art. The distinction between history and genre-painting cannot be too clearly drawn. Transitions from one to the other are admissible, and such pic- tures belong to the happiest productions of art ; and there are also circumstances under which the advantages of both styles may be uniteil. We meet with speci- mens of genre-painting among the an- cients. As the character of ancient wor- ship changed, a freer space was offered to Art, which, by degrees, overstepped the ideal circle of the mythic-normal, with- drew the mystic veil with which the Saga covered everything, and revealingnature, assumed an individual character from ■which a genre-like style of art arose tend- ing towards the mythic. This style was, however, very ditTerent from what we now call genre-painting, which may be ex- plained by the plastic character pervad- ing art. Still we see by the mural paint- ings at llorculaneum and Pompeii, that in later Roman art there were colored pictures of the genre kind. These were certainly imjierfect attempts, but they prove, nevertheless, that mere manual artists turned to domestic painting. The introduction of a new religion, in the ser- vice of which art was enrolled, delayed the progress of life-painting for more than a thousand years, but when that which was unnatural in Christian Art gave place to a free (iermanic spirit, genre-jiainting arose refreshed. This spirit inclining to- wards the poetrj- of real life emploj'cd genre-painting for ecclesiastical purposes, but so many pleasing effects were devel- oped, that religion was soon neglected and cast aside. The carpenter's workshop be- came popular, although it was not that of Joseph; the landscape was beautiful, even without the procession of the three kings ; and the nosegay riveted the eye, although not plaeeil in the oratorv of the Virgin. GEXRE-SCULP'TUKE, we have evi- dences of this branch of Art having been attempted by the ancients. After the time of Alexander the Great, religion, and consequently Art, underwent a great change ; there was more room for indi- viduality, and a style of art was devel- oped which corresponded to the wants of the age, and which produced many work.s of a genre character. We know t!iat genre-painting was very popular during the last ages of Grecian art, from the de- scriptions extant of the kitchen— scenes, Ac, painted by Pyreicos, who finished these little pictures so exquisitely that the}' fetched a much higher price than large paintings by other artists. There are several specimens of genre-sculpture extant, the most remarkable of which is the Venus Callipygos, in the Jluscum at Naples. We find this stylo very often emjiloyed in Etruscan art, of which wo have some specimens in the c(dlection of bronzes in London, viz, a circular vase, the handle of which is formed by the fig- ures of two struggling gladiators, a han- dle formed by two jugglers, also a rare bronze, formed of an Etruscan slave, kneeling, whose physiognomy betrays his descent ; he is employed in cleaning a shoe, and holds a sponge in one hand. We meet with genre-sculjtturo among the biblical and legemlary subjects in the middle ages ; and it was carried on in the Germanic period, though only in small works, and those of a secular nature, viz , ivory carvings, and illuminations in books. Many critics affect to treat such works slightingly, but whoever looks at them with an unprejudiced eye, will be do- lighteil at the union of nature with gran- deur of conee]ition, and will reasonably expect to see such subjects chosen for the highest efforts of the artist. GE'NUS, in natural history, a subdi- vision of any class or order of things, OEO] AND THE KINK AllTS. 205 whether of the animal, vegetable, or min- eral kingdinus. All the species of a ge- nus agree in certain characteristics. — In iiuisic, a distribution of the tctracliurd, or the four principal sounds, according to their quality. GEOGRAPHY, properly, a descrip- tion of the earth or terrestrial globe, particularly of the divisions of its surface, natural and artilicial, and of the position of the several countries, kingdoms, states, cities, . .Iicoretical or speculative and practi- rul. The former treats of the various properties and relations of niiignitudcs, witli demonstrations of theorems, Ac. ; and the latter relates to the performance of certain geometrical operations, such as the construction of ligures. the drawing of lines in certain positions, and the ap- plication of geometrical principles to the various measurements in the ordinary concerns of life. — Tluorctlral ireomctry is again divided into elementary or com- mon geometry, and the higher geometry ; the former being employed in the con- 'sideration of lines, superficies, angles, planes, figures, and solids; and the lat- ter, in the consideration of tlie higher order of curve lines and problems. GEOPON'ICA, the name of a Greek compilation of precepts on rural economy, extracted from ancient writers. The name of the compiler is unknown; but the au- thorities which he quotes are numerous and c is situated.) which sent to the legislative assembly of 1791, among its representatives, three men of eloquence and talent, (Gaudet, Genscmne, Vergniaud.) who were among the chief leaders of the party. lis prin- ciples were republican. During tlie con- tinuance of that assembly the (Jirondists formed a powerful, but not always con- sistent party. Out of these Louis XVI. chose his republican ministers in the bo- ginning of 1792. But after the massacres of September in that year the party in general withdrew from all connection with the Jacobins, and appro.ximatcd towards the Constitutionalists. In the Conven- ti(m the Girondi^ts at flrst commanded a majority, but on the king's trial they were much divided ; and, being pressed by the violence of the sections of Paris, they were at length expelled from the as- sembly : thirty lOur of them were out« lawed, anil f.iia'',y twenty-two of their leaders gulilo'lned (7th and 31st October, 1793,) whi'ja few escaped, and others put aa c.id '.o themselves. Perhaps the most c .ie''«at-.,d member of the Girondo party v.ts ^ lady, Madame Roland, the wif J '.t' '.no minister of that name, who w »f eTjc-.iei'. when the party fell. j'.R' jl'l^TTE, (French, weathercock.) 3 *■ ;r a 'pr'.ied to numerous public char- Zf X" cf m it'rance, who, during the revolu- t'.'n.T'^ ^■'A, turned with every political I .''ere. To mark these, a Dictionnaire c'j* Girnattes was published, containing t jeir names, &c., with a number of weath- ercocks against each, corresponding to the number of changes in the individual's po- 1 tical creed. GIVEN, a term much used by mathe- maticians, to denote something supposed to be known. Thus, if a magnitude be known, it is said to be a given magnitude, if the ratio between two quantities be known, these quantities are said to have a,giren ratio, &c., Ac. GLA'CIERS, immense masses or fields of ice which accumulate in the valleys be- tween high mountains, from the melting of the snow at their top, and which, ow- ing to their elevation, generally remain solid. The ice of the glaciers is entirely different from that of the sea and river water. It is not formed in layers, but consists of little grains of congealed snow ; and hence, though perfectly clear, and often smooth on the surface, it is not transparent. As glaciers, in some posi- tions, and in hot summers, decrease, they often also increase for a number of years so as to render a valley uninhabitable. Their increase is caused partly by alter- nate thawing and freezing; their de- crease, by the mountain rivers, which of- ten flow under them, and thus form an arch of ice over the torrent. In the Ty- rol, Switzerland, Piedmont, ami Savoy, tlie glaciers are so numerous that they have been calculated to form altogether a superficial extent of 1481 square miles. GLA'CIS, in fortification, a mass of earth serving as a parapet to the covered 270 CVCLOl'KDIA OF LnKKATLIlK [glb way, having an easy slope or tleclivity towards the ch:inipaign or field. GLA'DIATORS, in antiquity, combat- ants who fought at the public games in Komc, for the entertaiinuent of the spec- tators. They were at first prisoners, slaves, or condemned criminals ; but af- terwards freemen fought in the arena, either for hire, or from choice. The games were commenced by a praliisio, in which they fought with weapons of wood, till, upon a signal, they assumed their arms, and began in earnest to fight in pairs. In case the vanquished was not killed in the combat, his fate was decided by the people. If they wished to save the life of the vanquished gladiator, they signified the same by clenching the fin- gers of both hands between each other, and holding the thumbs upright, close to- gether ; the contrary was signified by bending back their tliumbs. The first of these signals was called polliccm premere, the second pollicem rertere. The victors were honored with a palm branch, a sum of money, or other marks of the people's favor; and they were not unfrequentiy released from further service, and re- ce-ived as a badge of freedom, the 7-udis, or wooden sword. The cut represents the celebrated statue of the Dying (Jladiator. GLASS PAINTING, in painting, the method of staining glass in such a man- ner as to produce the effect of represent- ing all the subjects whereof the art is susceptible. A French painter of Mar- seilles is said to have been tlie first who instructed the Itali;ins in this art, during the pontificate of Julius II. It was, how- ever, practised to a considerable extent l)y Lucas of liCyden, nnd Albert Durer. The art of glass-painting is practised un•« nations of the earth from time immen^orial, and is common at onee to the rude Tartar, who seeks by their means to protect himself from cold, and to the refined European, with whom their use is an emblem of luxury. In the middle ages, gloves constituted a costly article of dress, being often highly decorated with embroidery and richly adorned with precious stones. In the age of chivalry it was usual for the soldiers who had gained the favor of a lady to wear her glove in his helmet ; and, as is well known, the throwing of a glove was the most usual mode of challenging to duel. This latter practice prevailed so early as the year 124fS. GLYCO'XI AX, or GLYCON'IC, a kind of verse in Greek and Latin poetry, con- sisting of three feet, a spondee, a chori- amb, and a pyrrhic. GLY'PII, in sculpture and architecture, any ch.annel or cavity intended as an or- nament. GLYPTOG'RAPIIY', a description of the 'art of engraving on precious stones. GLYPTOTIIE'CA, a building or room for the preservation of works of sculp- ture ; a word adopted by the Germans, aa in the instance of the celebrated Glypto- thek at Munich. GXU.ME.S, spirits with which the imagi- nation of certain philosophers has people* the interior parts of the earth, and v- whose care mines, quarries, ka. are .as- signed. 'GXO'MTC P0ET.=:. Greek poets, whos. remains chiefly consist of short senten- tious precepts and reflections, are so termed in classical bibliography. The principal writers ot this description, of 272 CVCLOI'EDIA OF LI rXK A If HE [col whom a few fragments are extant, are Theognis and Solon, who lived in the Cth century before the Christian era. With them Tyrtaeus and Simonides are joined by Brunck in his edition, although these writers have little of a gnomic character. The metre of these poets is elegiac. GXOS'TICS, a sect of philosophers that arose in the first ages of Christianity, who pretended they were the only men who had a true knowledge of the Chris- tian religion. They formed for them- selves a system of theology, agreeable to the philosophy of Pythagoras and Plato, and fancied they discovered deeper mys- teiies in the Scriptures than were per- ceived by those whom they considered as simple and ignorant. They held that all natures, intelligible, intellectual, and ma- terial, are derived by successive emana- tions from the Deity. In process of time, the name designated sectarians of various descriptions, but who all agreed in certain opinions; :ind the tenet which seems most particularly to distinguish the Gnostic name, was the e.xistence of two first principles, or deities, the one the author of good, and the other of evil. GOBELINS, or Hotel-Royal DE Go- HELiNs, a celebrated academy for tapes- try-drawing, and manufactory of tapes- try, erected in the suburb of St. Marcel, at Paris, by Louis XIV. in thej'ear 1666. The place was previously famous on ac- count of the dyeing manufactory estab- lished there by Giles .and John (Jobelins, in the reign of Francis I. These eminent dyers discovered a method of producing a beautiful si^arlct, which has ever since been known by their name; and so ex- tensive has been their fame, that not only the color, but the house in which their business was carried on, and the river they made use of, are called srnhelin.'t. GOD, the appellation which we give to the Creator and Sovereign of the uni- verse ; the Supremo Being. — Tlic words god and L'oddrss are also tiie appellatives common to th'! heathen deities; which they divided into dii mrtjoruni gcntidin, and dii niiiiorntit i;'cnlinni; that is, into the superior and iul'erior gods. Anotiier division was taken from their place of residence ; thus there were celestial, ter- restrial, infernal, marine, and sylvan gods. They were also ilividcd into ani- mal and natural gods: the animal gods were mortals, who had been raised to di- vinity by ignorance and superstition ; and the natural gods, the parts of nature, Buch as the stars, the clement.-*, mountains, rivers, Ac. There were also deities, who were supposed to preside ot jr particular persons : some had the care of women in child-birth ; others, the earj of children and young persons ; and others were tho deities (if marriage. Each action, virtue, and prcjfession had also its jiarticular god : the shepherds had their Pan ; the gardeners, their Flora ; the learned, their Mercury and Minerva; and the poets, their Apollo and the !Muscs. (;0D FATHER, and GOD'MOTIIER, the man and woman who are sponsors for a child at baptism ; who promise to an- swer for his future conduct, and solemnly promise that he shall follow a life of piety and virtue, by this moans laying them- selves under an indisjiensable obligation to instruct the child and watch over his conduct. This practice is of great an- tiquity in the Christian church, and was probably instituted to prevent children being brought up in idolatry, in caso their parents died before they arrived at years of discretion. GOLD, this metal, which in purity and firmness surpasses all others, isemploycil both in the plastic arts, and to a limited extent in painting. The most varied and beautiful ol>jects extant are the vessels used in religious services; and as it was most properly employed in the sacred vessels and sanctuary of the Old Temple, so the chalices and tabernacles of tho Catholic church, and the shrines of tho saints have been moulded of this precious metal; and in ecclesiastical ornament, of all kinds, with its multiplied fibres, and mingled with silk and purple, it enriches the sacerdotal vestments and the hang- ings of the altar, (told signifies purity, dignity, wisdom, and glory, and it is used in painting for the Nimbi which surround the heads of the saints, and it frequently forms the ground on which sacred sub- jects arc painted, tho better to express the majesty of the mystery depicted. It is a [iropcr emblem of brightness and glory. GOLDEN-FLEECE, in the mytho- logical fables of tho ancients, signified tiio skin or lleecc of the ram nixm which Phryxus and llella are siqiposcd to have swum over the sea to Colcliis ; which be- ing sacrificed to Jupiter, its fleece was hung upon a tree in the grove of Mars, guarded by two bra/cn-hoofed bulls, and a monstrous dragon that never slept ; but was at last taken and carried oH' by Jason and the Argonauts. GOLDEN NUM'BER, in chronology. is that number which imlicates the year of tho lunar cycle, for any given time. It OOT AND THE FINE ARTS. 273 was called the Golden Number, because in the ancient calendar it was written in letters of gold, on account of its great use- fulness in ecclesiastical coniputatious, es- pecially in fixing the time of Easter. It was likewise called the I'rinie, because it pointed out the first day of tlie new moon, primum lunce. To find the Golden Num- oer add 1 to the year of our Lord, divide the sum by 19, and the remainder is the Golden Number, the ciuotient at the same time expressing the number of cycles which liavc revolved from tlie beginning of the year preceding the birth of Christ. G()N'D')LA, the name given to the pleasure boats used at Venice, where the numerous cannls with which it is inter- sected generally render it necessary to substitute boats for carriages. The gon- dola is from 25 to 30 feet long, and five feet wide in the centre, in which a sort of cabin is constructed for passengers. They are sharj^-pointed both at the prow and stern, and are rowed by two men called i/ondolien. The cabins are always fur- nished with black curtains, which give a sombre appearance to the gondola at a distance. GOOD FEI'DAY, the name given in England to the anniversary of our Sa- viour's crucifixion. The French and most other European nations substitute the epithet Jwl^ for good. From the first dawn of Christianity, Good Friday has been regarded as a solemn festival by the great body of the Christian world. GOOD-"WILL, in law, the custom of any trade or business. A contract to transfer it is, in general, good at law. though not usually enforced in equity. In what cases the good-will of n partnership can be claimed as property by the repre- sentatives of a deceased partner appears loubtful. GOR'DIAN KNOT, in antiquity, a 'inot made in the harness of the chariot 18 of Gordius, king of Phrygia, so very in- tricate, that there was no finding where it began or ended. An oracle had de- clared that he who should untie this knot should be master of Asia. Alexander having undertaken it, and fearing that his inability to untie it should prove an ill augury, cut it asunder with his sword, and thus either accomplished or eluded the oracle. Hence, in modern language, to cut the Gordian knot is to remove a difficulty by bold or unusual means. GORGE, in architecture, the narrowest part of the Tuscan and Doric capitals, ly- ing between the astragal, above the shaft of the column and the annulets.— In for- tification, tlie entrance of a bastion, rav- elin, or other outwork. GOR'GKT, in plate-armor, the piece covering the neck at- tached to the helmet. The old covering for the neck was called camail, made of leath- er or cloth, and at- tached to the liood ; on this plates of steel were riveted ; and thus the gorget was formed, about the time of I^dward II. The name is supposed to have originated in Lombardv. GORGONEI'A, in architecture, carv- ings of masks imitating the Gorgon or Medusa's head. GOR'GONS, in mythology, three sister deities, fabled by the Greeks to dwell near the Western Ocean. Their heads, which -were twined with serpents instead of hair, had the power of turning all who beheld them to stone ; of which property Perseus made use after he had, by the help of Minerva, cut off the head of Medusa. GOS'PEL, is used to signify the whole system of the Christian religion, and more particularly, as the term literally implies the good news of the coming of the Messiah. The word was also origi- nally applied to the books wliich con- tained an account of the life of Christ, many of which were in circulation in the first century of the Christian era; though only four, those of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, were considered canonical by the fathers. GOTHIC, pertaining to the Goths; as Gothic customs ; Gothic barbarity. In architecture, a term at first applied opprobriously to the architecture ot the middle ages, but now in general use aa its distinctive appellation. By some the term Gothic is considered to include the Romanesque, Saxon, and Norman stj'les 2:t CVCLOPEDIA OF LITEKATLKE [gr.» which have oircular arches, but it is only appropriately applied to the styles which are distinguishL-d b\- the pointed arch. Gothic architecture so restricted has been divided into liircc distinct pcriols : the first period is n;iined the Early Eng- lish, it prevaile.l in the thirteenth cen- tury ; the second period or style, of the fourteenth century, is named the decora- ted stj'le ; and the third period is called the perpendicular style. The chief char- acteristics of Gothic architecture are : — the predominance of the arch and the subserviency and subordination of all the other parts to this chief feature ; tlie tendency of the whole composition to vertical lines; the absence of the column and entablature of clas.-.ic architecture, of square edges and rectangular surfaces, and the substitution of clustered shafts, contrasted surfaees, and members multi- plied in rich variety. The Gothic style is that best adapted for ecclesiastical edifices. GOV'ERNMEXT, that form of funda- mental rules and principles by which a nation or state is governed. If this power be vested in the hands of one, it is a monarch]/ ; if in the hand-; of the nobil- ity, an aristocrat!/ ; and if in the hands of i!ie people, or those chosen by them, a democracy. — The e.vecutire government is the power of adminL-itering public affairs; ihe leg islatlre sorernment. that of making the laws. — Gorernmenl is also a post or ofiice which gives e which have been approved of by the fathers of the GreeK church. It is the only church which holds that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father only, thus differing from the Catholic and Protestant churches, which agree in deriving the Holy Ghost from tl;c Father and the Son. Like the Cath- olic church, it has seven sacraments — bap- tism, chrism, the eucharist preceded by confession, penance, ordination, marriage, and supreme unction ; but it is peculiar in holding that full purification from original sin in baptism requires an im- mersion three times of the whole body in water, whether infants or adults are to be baptized, and in joining chrism (con- firmation) with it as the completion of baptism. It rejects the doctrine of pur- gatory, has nothing to do with predesti- nation, works of supererogation, indul- gences, and dispensations ; and it recog- nizes neither the pope nor any one else as the visible vicar of Christ on earth. In the invocation of the saints, in their 27G CVCLOI-LDIA OF LITEKAllUK [oRa fasts, relics, Ac, they are as zealous as the Romanists ; it may be said, indeed, that the services of the Greek churell ponsist almost entirely of outward forms. This is the religion of Russia ; the eccle- siastical establishment of which consists in u, holy synod, four metropolitans, eleven archbishops, nineteen bishops, 12,500 parish churches, and 425 convents' fifty-eight of which are connected with monastic schools for the education of the clergy. The Greek church, under the Turkish dominion, remained, as far as was possible under such circumstances, faithful to the original constitution. The patriarch of Constantinople exercises the highest ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Greeks in the whole Turkish empire ; but they labor under many disabilities, among which is a heavy poll-tax, under the name of "exemption from behead- ing." GREEK FIRE, a combustible compo- sition invented by the Greeks in the mid- dle ages, during their wars with the Arabs and Turks. It consists of naphtha, bitumen, sulphur, gum, &c. GREEK LAN'GUAGE, the language of the primitive inhabitants of Greece, the Pelasgi, was already extinct in the time of Herodotus, wlm asserts that it was dif- ferent from the Hellenic, and adds, that it is probable the Hellenes have retained their original language. From the great number of Hellenic tribes of the same race, it was to bo expected that there would be ditrerent dialects, the knowledge ef which is the more necessary for becom- ing acquainted with the Greek language, since the writers of this nation have trans- mitted the peculiarities of the different dialects in the use of single letters, words, terminations, and expressions, and that not merely to characterize more particu- larly an individual represented as speak- ing but even when they speak in their own person. It is customary to distin- guish three leading dialects, according to the three leading branches of the Greeks, the iEolic, the Doric, and (he Ionic, to which was afterwards addeii the mixed Attic dialect. At what time this language first began to be expressed in writing, has long been a subject of doubt. Accord- ing to the general opinion, Cadmus, the Phajnician, introduced the alphabet into Greece. His alphabet ccmsisted of but sixteen letters ; four are said to have been invented by I'alamedes in the Trojan war, and four more by ,'>inionidcs of Ceos. As the Jonians first adopted tlicxo letters, and the AtUeuians received them from them, the alphabet with twentv-four let teis is called the loiuc. Those'who haVa most carefully studied the subject, be- lieve that the use of the alphabet became common in Greece about 550 vearsbeforo Christ, and about as long after Ilomei". In Homer's time, all knowledge, religion, and laws were preserved by memory alone, and for that reason were put iii verse, till prose was introduced with the art of writing. The Greek language, as preserved in the writings of the celebrated authors of antiquity, as Homer, llesiod, Demosthenes, Aristotle, Plato, Xenophon, &o., has a great variety of terms and ex- pressions, suitable to the genius and oc- casions of a polite and learned people, who had a taste for arts and sciences. In it, proper names are significative ; which is the reason that the modern Innguages borrow so many terms from it. When any new invention, instrument, machine, or the like, is discovered, recourse is generally had to the Greek for a name to it ; the facil- ity wherewith words are there compound- ed, affording such as will be expressive of its use ; such are barometer, hygrometer, microscope, telescope, thermometer, &c'. But of all sciences medicine most abounds with such terms; as, diaphoretic, diagno- sis, diarrhoea, hemorrhage. hvdroph<7bia, phthisis, atrophy, &c.— Modern Greek, or Romaic. The Greek langu.age seems to have preserved its purity longer than any other known to us ; and even long after its purity was lost, the echo of this beau- tiful tongue served to keep alive some- thing of the spirit of ancient Greece. All the supports of this majestic and refined dialect seemed to fail, when the Greeks' were ensl.aved by the fall of Constantino- ple, (a.d. 1543.) All the cultivated class- es who still retained the pure Greek, the language of the Byzantine princes, either perished in the conflict, or took to fli reeks, it at first was worn long by adults ; boys, especially those of Sparta, until the a,'^e of puberty, wore their hair cropped closa. At a later period, it was customary for men to wear their hair cut short. The Athenian cus- tom was the opposite of the Spartan ; the hair was worn long in childhood, and cut upon arriving at manhood. The cutting of the hair was an act of solemnity, and performed with many ceremonies. The Roman youth, before the age of puberty, wore their hair in ringlets upon their shoulders ; but about the time of putting on the toga virilis, they cut it short ; such of tliem, at least, as wished to dis- tinguish themselves from the maccaro- nis and effeminate coxcombs. The hair thus cut off was consecrated to Apollo, who is always represented with flowing hair, or to some other god, under whose protection they supposed themselves to be more immediately placed. In works of Art, the Ephehl (youth who had at- tained the age of 18,) and the Athlet/r are always represented with short hair. Among the females, it was the custom to confine the hair with a band, or with net- work, sometimes richly ornamented with gold and other metals, examples of which are seen in the paintings found at Pom- peii. In other representations we find the hair inclosed in a kind of bag, made of various textile materials. The color which was most prized was blonde, al- though black was the most common. In times of mourning the hair was cut short. HAIR PEN'CILS, in painting, are composed of very fine hairs, as of the minever, the marten, the badger, the polecat, &.e., which are mounted in a quill when they are small or of moilerate size, but when larger than a quill they are mounted in white-iron tubes. The most essential quality of a good pen- cil is to form a fine point, so that all the hairs may be united when they are moistened by drawing them through the lips. HAIR'S BREADTH, a measure of length, equal to the forty-eighth part of an inch. HAL'BERD, or HAL'BERT, an an- cient military weapon, intended for both cutting and thrusting, formerly carried by sergeants of foot and artillery. It was a kind of combination of a spear and a battle-axe, with a variously formed head, and a shaft about six feet long. It is now rarely to be seen in use, e.xcept in Scotland in the hands of town-ofEcera (counterparts of English javelin-men) 284 CYCLOl'EDIA OF LITEHAi LUE 1. Halbert, time of Henry VIII 2 iln . willi fleiir de lis, Hen-y VII. 3. Doiibleaxcd halbert, Charles I. 4. Halbert, Charles II. 5 do., William 111. when attending the magistrates of a bor- ough. llAL'CYON DAYS, a name given by the ancients to the seven days that pre- cede and follow the winter solstice, from the circumstance of the halcyon or nlce- do selecting that period for incubation. While this process was going on, the weather was generally remarkable for its calmness ; and hence the expression has passed into a proverb, signifying days of peace and tranquillity. HALL, in architecture, a large room at the entrance of a house or palace. In the houses of ministers of state, magis- trates, Ac, it is the place where they give audience and despatch basine.«s. In magnificent edifices where the liall is very large and lofty, and placed in the middle of the edifice, it is called a saloon. An edifice, in which courts of justice are held; as M''estminster Ifall, which was origin- ally a royal palace ; the kings of England formerly holding their parliaments and courts of judicature in their own dwell- ings, as is still the practice in Spnin. It is perhaps a term improperly applied, as now, to the entrance of a (hvcUing- housc, tlKUigh not, so to a servants' hall. AtO.vfordan unendowed college is styled A linll; but at Cambridge the term is used indiscriminately I'or college, whether endowed or not. IIALLELI'T.^IT, a word signifying j)raise the Ijord, or praise yc Jchorah. It is met with in the beginning of some P8alm.s, and the end of others. It is a word of such liquid fluency and harmo- \ nious softness, that it is retained in oni hymns withont translation. In conform- ity with the (Jerman and other continen- tal languages in nhich J has the sound of y, we often see it written IInllclujuli ; but to pronounce the word with the English sound of j destroys its beauty and it ought never to be so written. IIALLUCIXA TIOX, in medicine, er- roneous imagination. Hallucinations of the senses arise from some defect in the organs of sense, or from some unusual circumstances attending the object ; and they are sometimes symptoms of general disease, as in fevers. Maniacal halluci- natiuns arise from some imaginary or mistaken idea. HALO, a circle appearing round the body of the sun, moon, or stars, but more especiallj' about the body of the sun and moon, called also corona, or c- wn. Ha- loes are sometimes I'hite and sometimes colored. Sometimes one only appears, and sometimes several concentric circles appear at the same time. Haloes are at times accompanied with other phenom- ena, Such as parhelia, or mock -suns ; par- selcncs, or mock-moons ; anthclia, or glo- ries. All these appearances are occasion- ed by the refraction, reflection, or inflec- tion of light falling upon, or passing near thick vapor floating in the atmosphere. HAM.VDIIY'ADS, certain nymphs or inferior deities supposed by the tJreek and Koman poets to preside over woods and forests, and, as their name implied, to live and die with the particular trees to which they were attached. H A N I), in anatomy, an important member of the human body, which, from the facilities it affords in all operations, and accuracy in ascertaining the magni- tude, X'ICS, that branch of music which considers the differences and pro- ]'ortions of sound. This science was by the ancients divided into seven parts ; \\'i cf f )und.s, of intervals, of system, of the genera, of the tones or modes, of mu- tation, and of nicloj)a'ia. HARMON IC TRIAD, in music, the ehonl of a note consisting of a third and perfect fifth, or, in other words, tlic com- mon chord. HAR'.MONY, in music, the aajreeablc result or union of several musical sounds heard at one and the same <-ime. \atu- ral harmonij coi>sists of tlic harmonic triad or common chord — Artifirial har- vionij is a mi.xture of concords and dis- cords. — Pifrured harmony is that in which, for the purpose of melody, one or more of the parts of a composition move., during the continuance of a chord, through certain notes which do not form anv of the constituent parts of that chord. — Har- monij. as applied to nature, the neces- sary reciprocal accordance of causes and effects, by which the existence of one thing is dependent on that of another. — In matters of literature, we use the wora harmonij for a certain agreement between the several parts of the discourse. In architecture, harmony denotes an agr'se- able relation between the parts of a building. In painting, it signifies the union or connection between the figures, with respect to the subject of the piece ; and also denotes the union or agjreeablo mixture of different colors — Harmony of the spheres, a favorite hypothesis of Pyth.agoras and many other ancient phi- losophers, according to which, celestial music, imperceptible by the ears of mor- tals, was supposed to bo produced by the sweetly tune J motions of the stars and planets. This harmony they attributed to the various proportionate impressions of the heavenly globes upon one another, acting at proper intervals. IIAR.MOXY OF THE SCRIPTURES, GOSPELS, itc, the correspondence of the several writers of dift'orent parts of the Scriptures in their respective narratives, or statements of doctrine. The earliest Iliirmony of the Gospels was composed by Tatian, in the second century, with the title Diatessaron. HARMONY PRE-ESTAE'LTSIIED, a hypothesis invented by Leibnitz, to ex- plain the correspondence between the course of our sensations and the series of changes actually going on in the universe, of which, according to that philosopher and many others, we have no direct knowledge. This hypothesis is connected, in the Leibnitzian system, with the doc- trine of monads, — certain spiritual pow- ers or substances, one of which constitutoa the principle of vitality and conscious- ness in every living being. Each of those, is, in il-^ degree, a mirror, in which the changes going on in the universe are rpfiected with greater or less fidelity. Rut between simple substances, such a.? spirit and matter, soul and body, no real rociproc;il action can take place. The Author of the universe has cons«q'jeit'y hat] AN'l) I'lIK FINK AIM'S. 287 60 ordained that the series of changes going on in any particular conscious mo- nad, corresponds precisely to those of the nion.ids in contiguity to which it is placed. Hence arises our belief that mind is act- ed on by maUer, and vice versa; a be- lief which leads to no practical errors in virtue. IIARMOS'TES, in ancient history, a Spartan magistrate, called also sometimes soj'hronistcs, who was appointed to super- intend a conquered state. Other Greek st;ites wliieh made conquests afterwards burrowoil the name. HARP, a musical stringed instrument, of a-triangular figure. It stands erect, and, when used, is jilaced at the feet of the performer, who produces its tones by the action of tlie thumb and fingers of both hands on the strings. Its origin is very variouslj' ascribed ; but whatever it may have been, its invention is mani- festlj' very ancient ; for it appears to have been in use (under various forms) with the Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans. The Anglo-Sa.vons excel- led in playing on the harp. The Irish, Scots, and Welsh also made much use of this instrument ; and with the Anglo- Normans it was equally popular. By the Welsh laws, a harp was one of the things that were necessary to character- ize a freeman or gentleman ; and none could pretend to this rank, who had not a ha'p, and was not able to play upon it. By the same laws, to prevent slaves from pretending to be gentlemen, it was ex- pressly forbidden to teach, or to permit, them to play upon the harp ; and none but the king, the king's musicians, and gentlemen, were allowed to liave harps in their possession. The modern harp forms one of the most elegant objects to the eye, while it pro luee-s some of the most agreeable effects to the ear, of any in- strument in use. There are generally 35 strings, but sometimes the number is extended to 43 : and the compass usually extends from double A of the bass clef, to double G in the G clef H/VR'PIE.S. in mythology, three rapa- cious winged monsters, supposed to be the goddesses of storms, and called Aello, Ocypete, and Celreno. They are so differ- ently described by the poets, that it is difficult to sav nnything definite concern- ing them. Hesiod represents them as young virgins, of great beauty; Vossius supposes them to be three winds; but both poets and artists appear gener- ully to vie with each other in depicting them under the most hideous forms. HARPOON', an iron instrument, form- ed at one end like a barbed arrow, and having a rope at the other, for the pur- pose of spearing the whale. As soon as the boat has been rowed within a compe- tent distance of the whale, the harpooner launches his instrument ; and the fish being wounded, immediately descends un- der the ice with amazing rapidity, carrj-- ing the harpoon along with him, and a considerable length of the line, which is purposely lot down, to give him room to dive. Being soon exhausted with the fa- tigue and loss of blood, he re-ascends, in order"\o breathe, where he presently ex- pires, and floats upon the surface of the water. — Harpoon gun, an instrument for discharging harpoons at whales in preference to tiie common method of the hand. It consists of a kind of swivel, having a barrel of wrought iron, about two feet long, and is furnished with two locks, which act simultaneously, for the f.urpose of diminishing the liability of the gun missing fire. HARPSICHORD, a musical instru- ment with strings of v.ire, played on by means of keys, the striking of which moves certain little jacks, which also move a double row of chords or strings, stretched over four bridges on the table of the instrument. Since the invention of that superior instrument, the grand piano-forte, the use of the harpsichord is greatlv diminished. HAR'USPICE, in Roman history, a person who pretended to foretell future events by inspecting the entrails of beasts sacrificed, or w.atching the circumstances attending their slaughter, or their man- ner of burning and the ascent of the smoke. HAR'VEST MOON, an epithet ap- plied to those moons which, in the au- tumnal months, rise on successive nights, soon after sunset, owing to the oblique ascension of the signs of the Zodiac, through which the moon is then passing. HASTA'TI. among the Romans, were soldiers armed with spears, who were al- ways drawn up in the first line of battle. These were picked out the next in age to the velites. At last they laid aside the spear, but still retained their name. HATCH'WAY, in ships, a .square or oblong opening in the deck, affording a pass.Tire from one deck to another, or into the hold or lower apirtmeiits. HAT'TI-SHERIFF, in Turki.-^h polity, an order which conies immediately from the Grand Siguier, who subscribes it usu- ally with these words: — ''Let my order 288 CVCI.OrEDIA OF LITEKAllRK [heu be executed according to ii,-; form and im- port." Tlie.se words are generally clgcd witb gold, or otherwise ornamented ; ami n order given in this way is irrevocable. HAUBERK, in armor, a tunic of ring- ed mail, with wide sleeves reaching a little below the el- bow, and descending below the knees ; being cut up before and behind a little way, for convenience in riding, it had the appearance of ter- minating in short trowsers. It was introduced in the twelfth century, and is supposed to have been introduced from Germany. — Hauberk is the name given to this vest- ment by the Normans, signifying a pro- *ection for the throat, Viut the term could ly have been appropriate when the ca- ■■chin or cowl formed a component part .t. HAUT'BOY, a musical wind instru- ment, shaped somewhat like the flute, but spreading and widening at .the bottom, and sounAijn's£u, to Hellcnizc, or adopt the man- ners of a Greek. There were great num- bers of Jews scattered throughout the Koman empire at this period, more espe- cially in the Asiatic and East African provinces, where the Greek was the cur- rent language; and as they were in the habit of making frequent journeys to and from Jerusalem, they heard the preach- ing of the Apostles, and became effica- cious instruments in i-onveying the knowl- edge of the word throughout all himls. From their long sojourn in foreign coun- tries they were distinguished from the Hebraists, or native Jews, by the greater liberality of their views with respect to the nature of the promises of the Old Testament. It appears from Acts, vi. I, that these Jews retained the distinctive name of Hellenists after their conversion to Christianity, and that there continued to subsist some jealousy between them and the native Christians. HEL'JIET, defensive armor for the head : a word of Scandinavian derivation. The armor of the ancients, which partic- ularly guarded the head, was known by the general denominations of head-piece, casque, ami helmet. Helmets were an- ciently formed of various materials, but chiefly of skins of beasts, brass, and iron. An open helmet covers only the head, ears, and neck, leaving the face unguard- ed. Some ojjcn helmets have a bar or bars froui the forehead to the chin, to guard against the transverse cut of a broad-sword ; but it affords little defence against the point of a lance or sword. A close helmet entirely covers the head, face, and neck ; having on the front per- forations for the admission of air, and slits through which the wearer may see the objects around him ; this part, which is style 1 the visor, (from the French word viscr, to take aim,) lifts up by means of a pivot ovcreach ear. Sonic helmets have a bever, (from bm'i'iir, drinker, or from the Italian beterc, to drink,) which, when closed, covers the njouth and chin, and either lifts up Vy revolving on the same pivots as the visor, or lets down by meana of two or more pivots on each side nea? the jaws. The use of the bever wa.s to enable the wearer to eat and drink more commodiou:-ly than could be done in a helmet with a visor only. The helmets of the Greeks and Romans were mostly open, not unlike skull-caps, as formerly worn by modern dragoons. Montfaucon says he never saw an ancient helmet with a visor to raise or let down, although he is of opinion that they had those contri- vances. It seems as if the Romans, at least those of v.hich Pompey's army was composed at Pharsalia, had open hel- mets, as Cfesar directed his soldiers to strike them in the face, which order, had their faces been covered, ho would not have given. HELOTS, in ancient history, the slaves of the Spartans, who consisted originally of the Achiiean inhabitants of Laconia, who were subdued by force of arms by the Dorian invaders. The name was derived from Helos, a town of Laco- nia, of which the inhabitants were thus reduced to servitude ; but to this class were afterwards added the Messenians, who still clung to their native soil after its subjugation by the Spartans. They were employed either as domestic slavefs, cultivators of the land, or in the public works; and though they do not appear to have been treated ordinarily with much severity, yet the recollection of their former state urged them frequently to revolt, while their numbers rendered them so formidable to their masters as to drive the latter to schemes of the most .abominable treachery for their repres- sion. HELVET'IC, an epithet designating what pertains to the Helretii, the ancient inhabitants of Switzerland, or to the modern states and inhabitants of the Al pine regions ; as the Helvetic confede- racy, (fee. HEMT, a Greek word used in the com position of several terms borrowed from that language. It signifies half, tlie same assewi, and dcml: thus, jiemiplef^ia is a palsy of one half o( the body ; hemistich, half a, verse ; hemicijcle, a s«mt-circle HERJ AND IIIK FINE AIITS. 291 HEMISTICH, in poetry, denotes half a verse, or a verse not completed. In reading common English verse, a short pause is required at the end of each hemistich. HENDECASYL'LABLE.?, in poetical composition, a verse of eleven syllables. Among the ancients it was particularly used by Catullus, and is well adapted for elegiint trifles. HEP'TACnOKD, in ancient poetry, verses sung or played on seven chords or ditTerent notes ; in which sense the word was applied to the lyre when it had but seven strings. HEPTARCHY, a government exer- cised by seven persons ; or, a nation di- vided into seven governments. — Saxon heptarchy, the seven kingdoms existing in England, between the fifth and ninth centuries. These kingdoms were sever- ally named, I.Kent ; 2. Sussex ; 3. Wes- sex ; 4. Essex; 5. Northumberland; 6. East Angleland ; 7. Mereia. The hep- tarchy was formed by degrees ; but it may be said to have commenced in 449, when Hengist arrived on the island. In 827 Egbert was enabled, by a combina- tion of circumstances, to assume the title of King of England ; but, in reality, three of the kingdoms, Northumberland, East Angleland, and Jlercia, were still governed by their own kings, though those kings were his vassals and tributa- ries. The kingdoms he actually govern- ed were Kent, Sussex, Wessex, and Essex. HEKACLI'D-E, the return of the He- raclidie into Peloponnesus, in chronolo- gy, constituted the beginning of profane history; all the time preceding that period being accounted fabulous. This return happened in the j'ear of the world 2682, a hundred years after they were expelled, and eighty after the destruction of Trov. HERALD, the title of an officer in Eng- land whose duty it anciently was to declare war, to challenge in battle and combat, to proclaim peacQ, and to execute martial messages; but who is, at present, to conduct royal processions, the creations of noliility, and the ceremonies of knighthood ; to publish declarations of war, not to the enemy, but at home ; to proclaim peace ; to record and blazon armorial bearings ; and to regulate abuses in arms, under the authority of the earl marshal, by whom he is created. The heralds wore formed into a college by Ricliard the Third. The three chief heralds are called kings at arms, the principal of wliich is Garter ; the next is called Clarencieux, and the third Norroy ; these two last are called provincial heralds. Besides these there are six other inferior heralds, viz., York, Lancaster, Somerset, Richmond, Chester, and Windsor; to which, on the accession of king George I. to the crown, a new herald was added, styled Hanover her- ald ; and another styled Gloucester king at arms. — Heralds, amongst the ancient Greeks and Romans, were held in great estimation, and looked upon as sacred. Those of Greece carried in their hands a rod of laurel, round which two serpents, without crests, were twisted as emblems of peace. IIER'ALDRY, is the art, practice, or science of recording genealogies, and bla- zoning arms or ensigns armorial ; or it is the science of conventional distinctions impressed on shields, banners, and other military accoutrements. It also teaches whatever relates to the marshalling of cavalcades, processions, and other public ceremonies. — Heraldry has been divided into personal and national. The first of these divisions treats of bearings belong- ing to individuals, either in their own or in hereditary right. The second treats of distinctive emblems adopted by civil communities. H E R B A ' R I A, collections of dried plants, such as the old botanists called horti sicci, or dry gardens. They are formed by gluing to sheets of paper branches and other parts of plants pressed flat, and dried in the sun or otherwise. If well prepared, they are as useful to the botanist as plants alive ; but it is ne- cessary to have some practical skill to bo able to employ them advantageously. The largest public herbaria are those of the Museum at Paris ; the Imperial col- lection of Vienna; the Royal of Berlin: and that of the British Museum, formerly Sir Joseph Bank's. Nothing certain is known of the extent of these collections, but they probably contain, in some cases, as many as 60,000 species. The herbari- um is an unattractive part of public mu- seums ; but a very important one for nu- merous purposes of science, both practical and speculative. HERCULA'NEUM, an ancient city of Naples, overwhelmed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the reign of Titus; it was discovered in the year 1689, since which time many manuscrij)ts, paintings, statues, and other relies of antiquity, have been discovered. From the excava- tions that have been made from time to time, the ancient streets and buildings have been, as it were, again thrown open. 292 C'VCLOl'EDIA OF LITEliATL'RE and the domestic affairs of tho ancients revealed to the eyes of niodeni archa-olo- gists. Since 1823 new excavations have taken place, and a splendid private house has been discovered, with a suite of cham- bers, and a court in the centre. There is a separate part of the mansion allotted to females, a garden surrounded by ar- cades and columns, and also a grand sa- loon, which probably served for the meet- ing of the whole family. Another house, also discovered, was very remarkable, from tho quantity and nature of the pro- visions in it, none of which had been dis- turbed for eighteen centuries, for the duors remained fastened, in the same state as they were at the period of the catas- trophe which buried llerculaneum. The family which occupied this mansion was, in all likelihood, when the disaster took place, laying in provisions for the winter. The provisions found in the store-rooms consist of dates, chestnuts, large walnuts, dried figs, almonds, prunes, corn, oil, pease, lentils, pies, ami hams. The in- ternal arrangement of the house, the m:in- ler in which it was ornamenteii, all, in ''act, announced that it had belonged to a Tcry rich family and to admirers of the Arts ; for there were discovered many pic- .ures, representing Polyphemus and Ga- latea; Hercules and the three llesperides, Cupid and a Bacchante, Mercury and lo, Perseus killing Medusa, and others. There were also in the same house, vases, articles in glass, bronze and terra eotta, as well as medallions in silver, represent- ing in relief Apollo an 1 Diana. IIERCU'LEAN, an epithet expressive of the great labor necessary to execute any task ; such as it would require tiie strength or courage of Jlereulcs to en- counter or accomplish. IIEII'CULE.S, in mythology, one of tlio most celebrated ])ersonage.s of antiquity, believed to be the son of Jupiter and Alcmaena, the daughter of Electryon, king of Myccnic. The history au'l wondeiful exploits of this hero are so well kmnvn, that it would be supcrlluous to dwell up- on them here. There is, ])orhaps, no sub- ject connected with antiquity to the right comprehension of which such formidable Uilliculties are presented ; and hence the numerous attempts that have been made to separate truth from fiction in the his- tory of Hercules, by divesting it of tho mythological traditions with which it had l)een encumbered by all the writers of antiquity. In some shape or another, all the profane nations of antiquity seem to Lave possessed a divinitj* to whom thoy attributed an extraordinary degree of bodily strength, combined with indomita- ble perseverance and moral energy in pros- ecuting anil overcoming dillicult aehievc- ments. The reader will at once recog- nize, as belonging to this class, the Baal of the Syrians, the Mulkarth of I'hcenicia, and the llama of ilindostau; who, like the Grecian Hercules, outstripping in bodily and intellectual endowments tho great mass of the i)eople of the rude era in which they lived, achieved" a multi- plicity of deeds which were looked upon as altogether miraculous, and which pro- cured for their authors empire and do- minion during their lives, and after death a place among the gods. HEREDIT'AMENTS, in law, lands, tenements, and whatever immovable things a person may have to himself and his heirs, by way of inheritance ; and which, if not otherwise bequeathed, de- scend to him who is next heir, and not to the executor, as chattels do. HEREDITARY, an appellation given to whatever belongs to a family by right of succession, from heir to heir. Some monarchies are hereditary, and others elective; and some hereditary monarchies descend only to the heirs male, as in France ; but others, to the next of blood, as in Spain, England, &.c. — Hereditary is also applied to offices and posts of honor annexed to certain families ; thus in England the office of earl-marshal is he- reditary in the family of Howard. It is also figuratively applied to good or ill qualities, supposed to bo transmitted from a parent to a child; as, hereditary bra- vecy, hereditary pride. HEll'ESV, a fundamental error in re- ligion, or an error of opinion respecting some fund iniental doctrine of religion. But in countries where there is an estab- lished church, an opinion is deemed lier- c.sy, when it differs from that of the church. The Scriptures being the stand- ard of faith, any opinion that is repugnant to its doctrines, is heresij ; but as men differ in thi! interpretation of Scripture, an opinion deemed heretical by one budy of Christians, may be deemed orthodox by another. In Scripture and primitive usage, hcresij meant merely sect, party, or tho doctrines of a sect, as we now uso dei'.omiiHiliuii or jiersiiasion, implying no reproach. HER'E'l'OCH, among the ancient Sax- ons, signilied the leader or commander of an army, or tho commander of tho militia in a country or district. IIER'IOT, in law, the fine paid to the HKxJ AND TIIK KINE AKTS. 20c lord of the nifinor, by copyholJers, on the death of the tenant. JIEll'ISSON, in fortification, a beam pr bar ariucd with iron spikes pointing cutwanLs, and turning on a pivot ; used to bh)clv up a passage. HER.MENEU'TICS, the art of finding the meaning of an author's words and phrases, and of exphiining it to otliers. The word is seldom used except in refer- ence to theohigical subjects. HERMETIC ART, the imaginary art or science of alchemy ; so termed from Hermes Trismegistus, a personage of questionable reality, looked up to by the alchemists as the founder of the art. h>ome spurious works bearing his name are still extant. IIER'MITS, orER'EMITES, persons who, in the early ages of Ciiristianity, secluded themselves from the world for devotional purposes, betaking themselves to solitary and desert places (tpruidi,) whence their name. In the first five cen- turies of our era this class of persons was extremely numerous ; nor have individ- uals been wanting in latter ages who have undergone the same privations with the same mistaken views, and have ac- quired great reputation for sanctity in consequence. HE RO, in pagan mythology, an illus- trious mortal, but supposed by the popu- lace to partake of immortality, and after his death to be placed among the gods.— Hero is also used in a more extensive sense for a great, illustrious, and extra- ordinary personage ; particularly one eminent for valor, courage, intrepidity, and other military virtues. — Hero, in a poem or romance, is the principal per- sonage, or the one who has the principal share in the actions related; as Achilles in the Iliad, Ulysses in the Odyssey, &c. — Heroic verse, hexameter verse, so called because it is used by poets in their heroic poems. — Heroic age, that age or period of the world wherein the heroes, or demigods, are supposed to have lived. The heroic age coincides with the fabu- lous age. IIERRN'IIUT, an establishment in Upper Lusatia, comprising, it is said, at present 120 houses, and 1500 inhabitants, which was founded by a few Moravians about the year 1722, under the patronage of Count Zin7,enilorf. The principles of the society thus formed are seclusion from the woild, the enjoyment of a con- templative life, and the possession of all goods ■./! common. Its members are bound together, under the title of Mora- vian Brethren, by strict laws and observ- ances. Accusations have been thrown out against them of their indulging, in their retirement, in many licentious practices; but it is certain that their in- dustry supplies many of the markets of (Jermany with various useful and orna- mental articles of handiwork ; that their zeal has prompted them to establish affi- liated societies in many parts of Europe and America; and that in religious mat- ters they are neither extravagant them- selves, nor intolerant of others. IIER'TIIA, (sometimes written Aertha, Aortha, and Eorthe.) In German my- thology, the name generally assigned in modern times to the chief divinity of the ancient German .and Scandinavian na- tions. iShe was worshipped under a va- riety of names, of which the chief were exactly analogous to those of Terra, Rhea, Cybele, and Ops, among the Greeks .and Romans. Long before the Christian era. the knowledge of Hertha appeared to have been extended over .a great portion of northern Europe. Tacitus speaks of the wonderful unanimity Avhich tribes that h.ad no other feature in common dis- played in worshipping this goddess, whom he designates Ilerthus, or Mother Earth. ller chief sanctuary was situated, accord- ing to the same authority, in a sacred grove in an island of the ocean, in insula oceani, which, by some writers, has been supposed to be Riga, and by others Zet- land or Heligoliind ; but no modern re- searches have been able accurately to fix its locality. nE.SPER'IDES, in Greek mythology, the daughters of Night, or the grand- daughters of Hesperus the brother of At- las, three or seven in number, possessors of the fabulous garden of golden fruit watched over by an enchanted dragon at the western extremities of the earth. Such at least is the most ordinary form of the fable, but it is very variously rep- resented. HET'EROCLITE. in grammar, a word which is irregular or anom.alous, either in declension or conjugation, or which deviates from the ordinary forms of in- flection in words of a like kind. IIEX'ACHORD, in music, ted to introduce this measure into the language of their respective coun- tries. The few specimens we have seen of it in French appeared to us wholly un- successful. The little countenance given to the attempts made by Dr. 8outhey and others to introduce it into English literature, is conclusive, we think, against its ever being generally adopted in that country ; but, on the other hand, it has been cultivated in Germany with great success, as the Hermann and Dorothea of Goethe, and many other examples that might be cited, abundantly prove. One of the most successful specimens of mod- ern hexameter is the admirable poem of Evangeline, by our countryman, Long- fellow. IIEX'APLE, the combination of six versions of the Old Testament by Origen, is so called : viz., the Septuagint, Aquila, Theodotian, Symmachus, one found at Jericho, and another at Nicopolis. HEX'ASTYLE, in architecture, that species of temple or other building hav- ing six columns in front. UIA'TUS, a word which has pas.sed into several modern languages. In dip- lomatics and bibliography, it signifies a deficiency in the text of an author, as from a passage erased, worn out, &c. In grammar and prosody, it properly signi- fies the occurrence of a final vowel, fol- lowed immediately by the initial vowel of another word, without the supjiression of either by an apostrophe. This, in Greek and Latin poetry, was only admis- sible in certain excepted cases ; as whore, in Greek, a final long vowel is succeeded by an initial short vowel, and becomes sometimes short by position : or in Latin, where the ccBsura gave an additional force to the first vowel, as in the cele- brated line, "Ter sunt conall iinpouero Pcli6 Ossam."' which affords an instance of both, the first hiatus being occa^sioncd by the caes- ura; the second, an imitation of the Greek jtrosody. In Frciu-li the hiatus is carefully avoideil : in English less so, althougti by the more accurate | )ets still regarded as a blemish, except in- some instances where a long vowel is followed by a short one. The worst species of hiatus is where the same vowel sound is repeated. HIERARCHY, a term literally signi- fying /io/y o-orer)(/ncn<, and applied some- times to the supposed ])olit}', or social constitution, among angels. Also, eccle- siastical government, or the subordina- tion of rank among the diflferent orders of clergy. HIEKOGLYPH'ICS, in antiquity, mystical characters or symbols used in writings and inscriptions, particularly by the Egj'ptians, as signs of sacred, divine, or supernatural things. The hierogl yph- ics were figures of animals, parts of the human body, Ac, containing a meaning which was intelligible only to the priests, and those who were initiated in their mysteries. In a general sense, a hiero- glyphic is any symbol or figure which may serve to represent an object and convey a meaning. HIEROGRAM'MATISTS, in ai.ti- quity, priests amongst the Egyptian? who presided over learning and religion. Their duty was to take care of the hieroglyph- ics, and expound religious mysteries and opinions. They were also skilled in div- ination, and were honored with many exemptions from civil duties and taxes. IIIEKOM'ANCY, in Grecian antiquity, a species of divination, which predicted future events by observing the appear ances of the various things oflTered in sac- rifice. IIIEROM'NEMON, in ancient Greece, a magistrate who presided over the sa- cred rites and solemnities. HIEKON'ICES, in antiquity, a con- queror atthe Olympic, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean games. HIEROPHAN'TES, in Grecian anti- quity, the priests and priestesses who were appointed by the state to have the supervisal of sacred rites, and to take care of the sacrifices. HIEROPH'YLAX, an officer in the Greek church, who was guardian or keeper of the holy utensils, vestments, &c., an- swering to our sacristan or vestry-keepcr. IIKjH'NESS, a title of honor given to princes. The kings of England ))eforo James I. were not saluted wilii the title of " majesty," but that of highness only. At present the children of crowned heads are gencrallj' styled royal highness. Those of the emperors of Austria and Russia are stvled imperial hiu;hnest!. HIGH-PRIEST, the head of the Jew- ish priesthood. Moses conferred this dig- his] AM) IIIK KINK AUIS, 295 nity upon his orotncr in whose family it descemled without interruption. After Jiie subjugation of the Jews by the Seleu- ciJu!, the Ptolemies, anil the Rouians. it was often arbitrarily conforrcd by the foreign masters. The importance of this oflicer is indicated by the splemlor and costliness of liis garment, which was among the most beautiful works of an- cient art. HILA'RIA, in antiquity, a festival cel- ebrated by the Romans on the 8th of the calends of April, in honor of the god Pan. HINDOOS', the primitive inhabitants of the East Indies ; a people distinguish- ed for their humanity, gentleness, indus- try', and knowledge of the polite arts, at a time when most of their Asiatic neighbors were yet only in the first stages of civilization, when the Greeks lay in obscurity, and the nations of Europe were in a state of barbarism. They have preserved their national character from the most distant ages, even under the do- minion of foreigners, and have retained to the present day their language, their ' written characters, their government,' religion, manners, customs, and habits of life. They possess greit natural tal- ents, but are at present deprived of op- portunities for their development, though they are still largely engaged in manu- factures and commerce. In earlier times, before they were oppressed by a foreign j'oke, they had reached a higher degree of civilization, and their country h;isbeon considered as the cradle of the arts and sciences. They are divided into four dis- linct classes, or castes, which, to the great disadvantage of cultivation, are essen- tially and perpetually separate from each other, so that no transition from one to another is possible. But the most e.xtra- ordinary custom of the Hindoos is the burning of widows at the funeral of their husbands. HIPPOCEN'TAUR, in ancient'fablo, a supposed monster, half man and half horse. The hippocentaur differed from the ctii- taur in this, that the latter roiie on an ox, and the former on a horse, as the name imports. HIP POCHEXE, a celebrated fountain at the foot of Mount Helicon, supposed to have been produced by the horse Pegasus having struck his foot against the moun- tain. It was regarded in antiquity with peculiar veneration, as it was believeil to bo a favorite haunt of the iluses, and was consequently looked upon as one of the chief sources whence the poets drew their inspiration. HIP'PODROME, in antiquity, a course for chariot and horse races. There are in England some vestiges of similar courses, the most remarkable of which is that near Stonehenge. This hippodrome occupies a tract of ground e.vtending about two hun- dreil druidical cubits, or three hundred and fifty feet, in breadth, and si.x thou- sand druidical cubits, or more than arnilo and three quarters, in length. It runs directly cast and west, and is completely inclosed with a bank of earth. The goal and career are at the east end. The goal is a high bank of earth, raised with a slope inwards, on which the judges are supposed to have sat. There is one about half a mile to the southward of Leicester ; another near Dorchester ; and a third on the banks of the Lowther, near Penrith in Cumberland. But these must have been humble imitations indeed of the splendid structures erected in ancient times, as may be seen in the description of the one at Olyrapias, as given by Pau- sanias, or of that which was finished by Constantine, and which still fills the trav- eller who visits the Turkish capital with astonishment. It is surrounded by two ranges of columns, extending farther than the eye can reach, raised one above the other, and resting on a broad foundation, and is adorned by an immense quantity of statues, in marble, porphyry, and bronze. HISTORICAL PAINTING, in paint- ing, th.at department of the art which comprehends all representations whereof history furnishes the subject. But under this head are generally included subjects from fabulous history, and those founded on allegory. IIISTORIOG'RAPHER, a professed historian, or writer of histories. It has been a common, although not uniform practice in European courts, to confer the place of public historiographer on some learned man as a mark of royal favor. Voltaire had at one period the title of Royal Historiographer of France. HIS'TORY, an account of facts, particu- larly of facts respecting nations or states ; a narration of events in the order in which they happened, with their causes and ef- fects. History differs from annals. An- nals relate simply the facts and events of each year, in strict chronological order, without any observations of the annalist. History regards less strictly the arrange- ment of events under each year, and ad- mits the observations of the writer. Thia distinction, however, is not always re- garded with strictness. History is of dif- !9G CYCI.OPKUIA OF UTEilATURE IIOL ferent kinds, or treats of different sub- jects ; as, a history of government, or ])■>- litical history; history of the Christian church, or ecclesiastical history ; history of the affairs of nations, empires, kins;- doms, and states, their rise, progress, and decline, or civil history ; history of relig- ion as contained in the bible, or sacroil his- tory. — Profane history is another name far civil history, as distinguished from sa- cred history ; history of war ami con- quests, or military history ; history of law ; history of commerce ; history of the crusades ; history of literature, history of soience, Ac. In these and similar e.vain- ples, history is written narrative or rela- tion. The divisions of history in relation to periods of time have been reckoned three. 1. Ancient history, which includes the Jewish history, and that of the na- tions of antiquity, and reaches down to the destruction of the Roman empire, A.D. 476. 2. History of the middle ages, which begins with 476, and comes down to the discovery of America in 149'2, or to the reformation. 3. Modern history, from either of these er,as to our own times. — Classical hislori/, properly so called, is the history of the national affairs and conquests of the Greeks and Romans. — The uses of history are as varied as they arc important. To become acquainted with the characters of men, the marks, .sources, and effects of their p.assions and prejudices, the power and changes of their customs, ami the like, is an essential .and necessary stop to prudence ; and all this knowledge is considerably improved by history, whicli teaches ns to make other men's exi)erience our own, to jirofit by it, and to learn wisdom from their misfor- tunes. Persons who reail history merely for amusement, or, having in view some particular branch of Ic.irning. attend only to curtain branches of liistory, are not confined to that order and connection which is absolutely requisite for obtain- ing a jiroper knowledge of history; the most regular, as well as successful way of stiiilying which, is to begin with an epitome of universal history, and after- wards apply to the history of jjarticular nations an I commonwealths; for the study of piirlicubir histories is only ex- tending tlie knowledge "f pirticular parts of universal history Unless this bo our plan, we shall only till tin; memory with some events ; which may be doiw! with- out a|i]ilying to history, or pri'ti'mling to the knowledge of it. IIISTIUON'K; .art, thit of acting in dramatic representation llislrio, in an- cient Rome, signified an actor or come- dian ; but more esi;ecially a pantomimist, whoso talents were exerted in gesticula- tions and dancing. IIOCKDAY. or IIOKE'DAY, a day of feasting and mirth, formerly held in England the second Tuesd.ay after Eas- ter, to commemorate the destruction of the Danes in the time of Ethelred. 1I0'LIXE.?.S, a title of quality given to the pope, who is styled, " your holi- ness." or, "holy father:"' in Latin, sanc- lissime, or beatissime pater. IIOL'OCAUST, aburnt offering or sac- rifice, wholly consumed by fire : of this kinil was the daily sacrifice in the Jewish church. This was done by way of ac- knowledgment, that the person offering, ami all that belonged to him, were the effects of the divine bounty. The pagan nations, who also offered holocausts, ]irob- ably considered them in the same light. liOLOaRAPTI, a deed or testament wholly written by the hand of the testa- tor. HO'LY ALLI'ANCE, THE, a league finrmed between certain of the principal sovereigns of Europe, after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo ; on the proposal, it is said, of the Emperor Alexander. It arose from the religions enthusiasm which was prevalent at that period of deliverance from French domination, and with which the Russian emperor was just then considerably imbued. The act of this alliance is said to have been sent in his handwriting to the emperor of Austria and king of Prussia, and signed by them. It is not supposed that the original terms of the league were other than indefinite; for the maintenance of justice, religion, »S:c., in the name of the (lospol. But it w.as subsequently con- nected with the determination of those monarchs to support, in conjunction with England and France, existing govern- ments tflronghout Europe, by the Docl.a- ration of November, 1819: afterwarils the congresses of Troppau, Laybach, and Verona established the character of the alliance ; to which the war of France against Spain, in 1823. gave additional illustration. Since the secession of Eng- l;tnd and Frnnce, the alli:inee can scarcely be siiid to hii.ve anv active existence. HOLY ROOD, "or HOLY CROSS, a festival kept on the 14th of September, to commemorate the exaltation of the Holy Cross. It is from this circumstance that the royal palace in Elinburgh has derived its appellation. HOLY TIIUKSD.VY, or .VSCEXSION II om] AND THE FINK ARTS. 297 DAY, in the Romish calendar, the 39th day after Easter Sunday. A festival in coinmcinoration of Christ's ascension. ^0'LY-^VATEil, in the Roman Cath- olic and (ireek churches, water which has been con.secrated by prayers, e.\orcisms, and other ceremonies, to sprinkle the faithful and things used for the cliurch. It is contained in a particular kind of vases, at tiie doors of churches, and also within them at certain places, from which the Catholics sprinkle themselves before prayer. The Protestants renounce the use of holy-water probably from a fear that it would be considered, like amulets or relics, as something efficacious in it- self, without the repentance commanded by the church. IIO'LY-WEEK, the week before Eas- ter, in which the passion of our Saviour is commemorated. H0'M.^OMERI'A, the name given to the physical theory of Anaxagoras, a Grecian philosopher of Clazomenas, who flourished in the fifth century B.C. Ac- cording to this hypothesis, every material substance is made up of infinitely small parts similar to itself. Hence the growth and nourishment of animals and vegeta- bles was accounted for, by supposing the alimentary substance to be analyzed into its various component parts correspond- ing to the parts of the substance nourish- ed. For instance, corn was supposed to contain particles of blood, bone, flesh, skin, Ac, which by the process of diges- tion were separated from each other, and added to the corresponding parts of the animal body. This theory bears some resemblance to that of the monads of Leibnitz in modern times. HOM'AGE, in law, the oath of submis- sion and loyalty, which the tenant, under the feudal system, used to take to his lord when first admitted to his land. HOMER'IC, pertaining to Homer, the great poet of Greece, or to his poetry. HOM'ICIDE, in law, the killing of one human being by another. It is of three \i\n(is, justifiable, excusable, or felonious ; juitifiable, when it proceeds from una- voidable necessity, without an intention to kill, and without negligence ; excusa- ble, when it happens from misadventure, or in self-defence ; felonious, when it pro- ceeds from malice, or is done in the pros- ecution of some unlawful act, or in a sud- den passion. Homicide committed with premeditated malice, is murder. Sui- cide also, or self-murder, is felonious homicide. — The lines of distinction be- tween felonious and excus.ible or justifia- ble homicide, and between manslaughter and murder, arc, in many cases, difiicult to define with precision. Cut, in genernl, the accused has the advantage of any un- certainty or obscurity that may hangoNir his case, since the presumptions of law are usually in his favor. IIOM'ILY, a sermon or discourse upon some point of religion, delivered in a plain manner, so as to be easily under- stood by the common people. In the primitive church, homily rather meant a conference or conversation by way of ques- tion and answer, which made part of the office of a bishop, till the fifth century, when the learned priests were allowed to preach, catechize, <&c., in the same man- ner as the bishops used to do. There are still extant several fine homilies, com- posed by the ancient fathers. — Ilomiletic or pastoral theology, a branch of practical theology, which teaches the manner in which ministers of the gospel should adapt their discourses to the capacities of their hearers, and pursue the best methods of instructing tlieni by their doctrines and examples. HOMCEOP'ATHY, a mode of treating diseases, which consists in the adminis- tration of a medicine which is capable of exciting in healthy persons symptoms closely similar to those of the disease which it is desired to cure. HOMOGE'NEOUS, or HOMOGE'NE- AL, an appellation given to things, the elements of which are of similar na- ture and properties. — Homogeneous light, that whereof the rays are all of one color and degree of refrangibility, without any mixture of others. HOMO'NYMS, words which agree in sound, but differ in signification ; as the substantive "bear" and the verb "'bear." HOMOOU'SIANS, and IIOMOIOU'- SIANS, names by which the Orthodox and Arian parties were distinguished in the great controversy upon the nature of Christ in the fourth century ; the former word signifying that the nature of the Father and Son is the same, the latter that they are similar. Ilomoousian (Gr. uftoovmoi) is derived from oiwi, the same, and i>i'ostases. The Latins more gen- erally used persona, and this is the modern practice : hence it is said the God- head consists of three persons. HYPOTHECATION, in the civil law, an engagement by which the debtor assigns his goods in pledge to a creditor as a security for his debt, without parting with the immediate possession ; differing in this last particular, from the simple pledge. HYPOTH'ESIS. a principle taken for granted, in order to draw a conclusion therefrom for the proof of a point in ques- tion. Also, a system or theory imagined or assumed to account for what is not un- derstood. HYSTEROL'OGY, or HYSTEllON PROTERON, in rhetoric, a figure by which the ordinary course of thought is in- verted in expression and the last put first : as, where objects subsequent in order of time are presented before their antece- dents, cause before effect, &c. ; as, Valet atque vivti,^ (he is well and lives.) I, the ninth letter in the alpliabet, and the third vowel. Its sound varies ; in some words it is long, as liigli, mind, pine ; in some it is short, as hid. kid ; and in others it is pronounced like y, as collier, onion, &c. ; in a few words its sound ap- proaches to the ee in beef, as in machine, which is the sound of the long t in all European languages except the English. In all Latin words of Latin origin, i pre- ceding a vowel (unless it follows another vowel.) is a consonant, as lunus (Janus,) coaiicio (conjicio ;) but in words of Greek origin, it is a vowel, as vimbus, iaspis. No English word ends with i, but when the sound of the letter occurs at the end of a word, it is expressed by y. I, used as a numeral, signifies no more than one, and it stands for as many units as it is repeated times; thus II stands for 2, and III for 3. When put before a higher numeral it subtriicts itself, as IV, four ; and when set after it, the effect is addition, as XFI, twelve. lAM'niC, or lAM'nUS, in poetry, a foot consisting of two syllables, the first short and the last long, as in declare, adorn. Thus, verses composed of short and long syllables alternately arc term- ed iambics : as, If ty I rant fac | tion dare | assail j her throne, A peo I pie's love | shall make | her cause I their own. IAMBICS, a species of verse consist- ing of short and long syllables alter- nately, used by the Greek and Latin poets, and especially by the Greek tragic poets. The iambics of the Greek tragic poets were originally composed of a suc- cession of six iambi, but at a later period various other feet were admitted. In most modern European languages the verse of five iambic feet is a favorite metre. Ac- cording to Aristotle, the iambic measure was first employed in satirical poems, called iamba, which appear to have bepn represented or acted. ICE'BERG, a hill or mountain of ice, or a vast body of ice accumulated in val- leys in high northern latitudes, or float- ing on the ocean. This term is applied to such elevated masses as exist in the valleys of the frigid zones ; to those which are found on the surface of fixed ice ; and to ice of great thickness and height in a floating state. These lofty floating masses are sometimes detached from the icebergs on shore, and sometimes formed at a dis- tance from any land. They are found in both the frigid zones, and are some- times carried toward the equator as low as 40°. ICH DIEN, (Germ.,) literally, I serve: the motto of the Prince of Wales, which was originally adopted by Edward the Black Prince in proof of his subjection to his father Edward III., and has been continued without interruption down to the present time. ICHNOG'RAPHY, in architecture, the transverse section of a building, which represents the circumference of the whole edifice ; the different apartments ; the thickness of the walls ; the distribution of parts ; the dimensions of doors, win- dows, chimneys; the projection of col- umns and door-posts; and, in short, all that can come into view in such a section. ICH'THYS, (Gr. a fish,) a word found on many seals, rings, urns, tombstones, i^c, belonging to the early times of Christianity, and supposed to have a mystical meaning, from each character forming an initial letter of the words? I//C0I1S Xpirrrog, Of on Ylos, X'')Tf)(; ; i. e., Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour. This interpretation is not unlikely, when we consider at once the universal reverence with which the fish was symbolically re- ideJ AND THE FINE ARTS, 307 garded among most ancient nations, and the many s'l'^ns and ceremonies adopted by the Christians, with some change of nieaniiig, from the religious rites of the surrounding nations. I'CONISM, in rhetoric, a figure of speech which consists in representing a thing to the life. ICOX'OCLASTS, that party of Chris- tians which would not tolerate images in their churches, much less the adoration of them. Images and paintings were unknown in the Christian church till the fourth centurj'; and the opposition to them was long continued with great vio- lence. ICONOG'RAPHY, the description of images or ancient statues, busts, semi- busts, paintings in fresco, mosaic works, &c. IDE 'A, in general, the image or re- semblance of a thing, which, though not seen, is conceived by the mind ; whatever is held or comprehended by the under- standing or intellectual faculties. In logic, idea denotes the immediate object about which the mind is employed, when we perceive or think of anything. Locke used the word idea, to express whatever is meant by phantasm, notion, species, or whatever it is which the mind can be employed about in thinking. Darwin, in his Zoonomia, uses idea for a notion of external things which our organs bring us acquainted with originall}', and he de- fines it a contraction, motion, or configu- ration of the fibres which constitute the immediate organ of sense ; synonymous with which he sometimes uses sensual motion, in contradistinction to muscular motion. By idea Kant eminently des- ignated every conception formed by the reason, (as distinct from the understand- ing,) and raised above all sensuous per- ception. These ideas he subdivides into, 1st, empirical, which have an element drawn from experience, for instance, or- ganization, a state, a church ; and 2d, pure, which are totally free from all that is sensible or empirical, such as liberty, immortality, holiness, felicity. Deity. Another division of the Kantian ideas, is into theoretical and practical, according to a similar division of the reason itself. Thus t^e idea of truth is a theoretical, that of morality a practical idea. IDEAL, that which considers ideas as images, phantasms, or forins in the mind ; as, the ideal theory of philosophy. — Beau ideal, or ideal bcautij ; an expression in the Fine Arts, used to denote a selection for a particular object, of the finest parts from different subjects, united in that one so as to form a more perfect wliole than nature usually exhibits in a single speci- men of the species ; or, in other words, the divesting nature of accident in the representation of an individual. IDEALISM, a term applied to sev- eral metaphj'sical systems, varying in its signification according to the meaning attached in each particular scheme to the word idea; from which it is derived. In England the best known system of ideal- ism is that of Berkeley. In reference to this philosopher's doctrines, the word is used in its empirical sense for the object of consciousness in sensation. In its Pla- tonic or transcendental sense, the term it/ea/ism has been applied to the doctrines of Kant and Schelling; neither of whom is an idealist in the way in which Berke- ley may be so called. The system of Berkeley may be thus expressed: — The qualities of supposed objects cannot be perceived distinct from the mind that perceived them ; and these qualities, it will be allowed, are all that we can know of such objects. If, therefore, there were external bodies, it is impossible we should ever know it; and if there were not, we should have exactly the same reason for believing there were as we have now. All, therefore, which really exists is spir- it, or the thinking principle — ourselves, our fellow-men, and God. What we call ideas are presented to us by God in a cer- tain order of succession, which order of successive presentation is what we mean by the laws of nature. IDEN'TITY, sameness, as distinguish- ed from similitude and diversity ; the sameness of a substance under every pos- sible variety of circumstances. Among philosophers, 'personal identity denotes the sameness of the conscious subject /, throughout all the various states of which it is the subject. — Sijstem. of identity, in philosophy, (otherwise called idcntism,) a name which has been given to the met- aphysical theory of the German writer Schelling. It rests on the principle that the two elements of thought, the objects respectively of understanding and rea- son, called by the various terms of mat- ter and spirit, "objective and subjective, real and ideal, &c., are only relatively opposed to one another, as ilifTerent forms of the one absolute or infinite: hence sometimes called the two poles of the absolute. — In a secondary sense the term identity denotes a merely relative same- ness, which may he also called logical, or abstract. Thus, in logic, whatever 508 CYCl.OrEDIA Ob" I.I I Kli ATU HE [iDO things are subjects of the same attribute, or collection of attrilmtos, are considered the same ; for cxiunplo, dog nnd lion are the same relatively to the common no- tion quadruped, under which they are both contained. Again, in physics, a tree may be assumed to be the same in rehi- tion to nil the rights of property, not- withstanding the j)hysical change which it undergoes frum the constant segrega- tion of old, and aggregation of new par- ticles. Lastly, it is only in this logical use of the term, that we can be said in memory to be conscious of the identity of the reproduced, and the original idea, for if they were absolutely identical, it would be impossible to distinguish be- tween the first appearance, and the re- currence of an idea. IDEOGRAPH'IC CIIAR'ACTEllS, in philology, characters used in writing which express figures or motions, instead of the arbitrary signs of the alphabet. The Chinese characters are ideographic, although the symbols, at first intended to represent distinct objects, have become by use merely conventional. The hiero- glyphical characters of the ancient Egyp- tians were of the same description. Ideo- graphical writing is opposed to phonetic. IDEOL'OGY, literally, the science of mind, is the term ai>plied by the latter disciples of Condillac to the history and evolutions of human ideas, considered as so many successive modes of certain origi- nal or transformed sensations. The writ- ings of this school are characterized by an unrivalled simplicity, boldness, and sub- tlety ; and the ditlerent phases of its doc- trines are admirably exhibited in the physiological researches of Cabanis. the moral dissertations of Garat ami Volncy, and the metaphysical disquisitions of Destutt de Tracy. IDES, one of the three epochs or divi- sions of the ancient Koman month. The calends were the first days of the differ- ent months ; the ides, days near the mid- dle of the months; anpf,r,) the n;une of a celebrated papal bull, containing a collection of ex- tracts from different constitutions of the pope, comprising those rights which, since the time of (Jregory V[[., have been un- interruptedly chiimeil by the Roman see, and a proclainiition of anathema against all who violate them. It was annually read on Holy Thursdaj', whence it re- ceives its name; but lately on Easter Monday. The sects of heretics are cursed in it by their several designations. A copy of the bull is hung up at the door of the churches of St. I'eter and St. John Lateran : and all patriarchs, ]irimates, bishop.", Ac, are re<|uircd to have it read once or more annually in their churches. INCARNA'TION, a word in common use among the theologians to express the union of the Godhead with the Manhood in Jesus Christ. The real manner of this union, or indwelling of the (.Jod in the !Man, is allowed to be a m^vstery such as cannot be fully apprehended by the hu- man intellect. INCENSE, in the materia medica, a dry resinous substance, known by tha name of tlius and olibanum. The burn- ing of incense made part of the daily service of the Jewish temple ; and in tho Romish church it is the deacon's office to incense the officiating priest or prelate, and the choir. In the religious rites of heathen nations, too, the odors of spices and fragrant gams were burnt as incense. 1NCEP'TI\'E, in grammar, an epithet for verbs which express a proceeding by degrees in an action. INCOG'NITO, (abbreviated to incog.,) unknown, or so di.sguised as not to be rec- ognized ; a mode of travelling without any mark of .distinction, which is some- times adopted by princes and great people who do not wish to bo recognized. INCOMPAT IBLE, in a general sense, morally inconsistent; or that cannot sub- sist with another, without destroying it: thus, truth and falsehood are essentially incompatible : so cold and heat are in- conipatible in the same subject, the strongest overcoming and expelling tho weakest. In a legal sense, that is incom- patible which cannot be united in tha same person, without violating tho law, or constitution. INCORPORATION, in law, the for- mation of a legal or a political body, with the quality of perpetual existence or suc- cession, unless limited by the act of in- corporation. IN'CL'BUS, or Nightma)-e, tho name of a disease which consists in a spasmodic contraction of the muscles of the breast, usually happening in the night, and at- tended witii a verj' painful difficulty of respiration and great anxiety. The most obvious symptom of this disease is a sen- sation of some great weight l.iid upon tho breast. Sometimes the sufferer finds him- self in some inextricable difficulty, en- deavoring to escape froni a monster, or, perhaps, in imminent danger of falling from a precipice, while his limbs refuse to do their otiicc, until ho suddenly awa- kens himself by starting from his recum- bent posture, or by a cry of terror. INCUM'BENT, the person who is in present possession of an ecclesiastical benefice. INCUNAB'ULA, in bibliography, a term applied to books printed during tha IND AM) Tlir, FIXF. ARTS. !1, early peiiod of the art; in general con- fined to those which appeared before the year 1500. IXDKCLI'XABLE, in grammar, a word admitting of no dcclenft.^e, which de- notes that a thing is not, but may bo. IX'FAMV, in law. that total lo.ss of character or ])ubli(; disgrace which a con- vict incurs, and by which a person is ron-< dered incapable of being a witness or a juror. IN'FANCY, the period physically con- sidered, from birth to seven years, and legally, till 21, previously to which no one can inherit or execute any obligation, or incur any responsibility except for necessaries. inf] AND THE FINE AIU'S. 317 INFANT'E, and INFANT'A, appul- lations severally given to all the sons and daughters of the kings of tSpain and Portugal, except the eldest. The dignity cf the title consists in the pro-eininenc«) implied by styling the children of the king, the children. IX'FAXTRY, the general name for soldiers who serve on foot. The term is in all probability derived from the Italian •word /ante, signifying a child or young person ; and was originally conferred on the young Italian peasantry, who served ill the wars on foot, the nobles being usu- ally mounted. There are, however, va- rious other accounts of the origin of the term. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, the infantry constituted the chief strength of an army; and, with the ex- ception of that period in European his- tory during which the institutions of chiv- alry prevailed, when the tournament with its gay appendages engaged the at- tention of all the powerful nobles and otherwise distinguished persons, who thus imparted to the cavalry a factitious im- portance, it has generally been regarded as the principal military arm. Since the institution of standing armies this has been peculiarly the case. INFECTION, the act or process of infecting, or the act by which poisonous matter, morbid miasmata, or exhalations, produce disease in a healthy body. — The thing which infects. The terms infection and contagion are used as synonymous in a great majority of cases. Different writers proposed and attempted to make a distinction between them, but there has been a great disagreement as to what the distinction should be; and in general no regard is paid to the proposed distinctions. Infection is used in two acceptations ; first, us denoting the effluvium or infectious matter exhaled from the person of one diseased, in which sense it is sj'nonymous with contagion ; and secondly, as signi- fying the iict of communication of such morbid effluvium, by which disease is transferred. The atmosphere and other inert substances are often contaminated by the deleterious or offensive qualities of malaria, the matter of contagion, efflu- via from putrid animal or vegetable sub- INFEODA'TION nf tithes, in law, the granting of tithes to mere laymen. INFE'RI^'E, in Roman nntiquity, sac- rifices offered to the infernal deities for the souls of the departed. IN'FINITK, in mathematiis, infinite- quantities arc such quantities a.i a o either greater or less than assignable ones. And infinite series, a series con- sidered as infinitely continued as to the number of its terms. INFINITE.S'IMAL, a term denoting an indefinitely small quantity. INFIN'ITIVE, in grammar, a mood expressing the action of the verb, without limitation of person or number, as to love. INFINITY, a term applied to the vast and the minute, to distances and spaces too great to be expressed in any numbers of measures, or too small to be expressed by any fraction ; and one of the incomprehensible, but necessarily ex- isting wonders of the universe. AV^e ap- ply infinity to God and his perfections. We speak of the infinity of his existence, his power, and his goodness. INFIR'MARY, a charitable establish- ment where the poor may receive medi- cal advice and medicine gratis. INFLECTION, in grammar, in strict- ness of language is any change which take.s place in a word from a modifica- tion of its sense between the root ami the termination. The inflection must, there- fore, not be confouniled with the termina- tion itself. Thus, the syllable am is the root of all the words employed in the conjugation of the Latin verb amo, I love : in the imperfect tense, the inflection is the syllable ab. The termination varies according to the person ; amabam, ama- bas, amabat. INFLUEX'ZA, an epidemic catarrh which has in various times spread more rapidly and extensively than any other disorder, and this universality of its at- tacks, together with the greater severity of its symptoms, principally distinguishes it from common catarrh. It attacks all ages and conditions of life, but is seldom fatal, except to the aged, or to those previously suffering, or having a tendency to pulmonary disease. The epidemics of 1831-2, anil of 1836-7, were nearly universal throughout the civilized world. INFORMA'TION, inlaw, an accusa- tion or complaint exhibited against a person for some criminal offence. An in- formation differs from an imlictment, inasmuch as the latter is exhibited on the oath of twelve men. but the information is only the allegation of the individual who exhibits it. — lie vyho communicates to a masristrate a knowleilge of the vio- lation? of law, is an informer ; but he who % akes a trade of laying informa- tion ', is termed a common informer 318 CV'CLOPKUl.V OK i.im:i:.\tl'1!F. [iNl and is generally held in disesteein by so- ciety- INFllALAPSA'RIANS, in church his- tory, an appellation given to such pre- destinarians as think the decrees of God, in regard to the salvation and damnation of mankind, were formed in consequence of Adam's fall. IXFU'LA, in Roman antiquity, abroad kind of fillet, made of white wool, which the priests used to wear round their heads. At later periods, the imperial governors wore infula as a sign of dignity, and, as such, it was adopted, in the 7th century, by the bishops of the Roman Catholic church, who continue to wear it on solemn occasions. It is, in fact, the mitre ; which the bishops of the church of Eng- land have in their coat of arms, but never wear on their head. IN'GOT, a small bar of metal made of a certain form and size, by casting it in moulds. The term is chiefly applied to the small bars of gold and silver, intend- ed either for coining or for exportation to foreign countries. IN'GRES.S, EGRESS, and RE'GRESS, in law, words frequently used in leases of lands, which signify a free entry into, a going out of, and returning from some part of the premises leased to another. INGRES'SU, in law, a writ of entry, termed also a praecipe quod reddat. INGRESS'US, in law, a duty which the heir at full age formerly paid to the chief lord for entering upon lands which had fallen to him. INIIAB'ITANT, a dweller ; one who dwells or resides permanently in a place, or who has a fi.\od residence, as distin- guished from an occasional lodger or visi- tor ; as the inhabitant of a house or cottage; i\\Q inhabitants oi s\, town, city, county, or state. So brute animals are inhabitants u[ the regions to whicdi their natures are adapted ; and wo speak of spiritual beings, as iiiliabitantsot' heaven. — In F2nglisk law, the term inhabitant is used in various technical senses. Thus a person having lands or tenements in his own possession, is an inhabitant for the purpose of repair of bridges, wher- ever ho may reside ; but for purposes of personal services, the inhabitant must necessarily bo a resident. For the pur- pose of the poor rate, the word means a person residing permanently, ami sleep- ing in the parish. AVhero the right of voting is in inhabitant householders, it is generally understood that an inhabitant is one who keeps a house in his own occu- pation, cither personally residing in it, or having it occupied by servants an(J rea ly for his residence, he having wliat is termed the animus rerertendi, or in- tention to return. .IXHE'RI'jXT, that which is insepara- ble, distinguished from the accidental and acquired ; as the inherent qualities of the magnet. Ac. INHERITANCE, an estate derived from an ancestor to an heir by succession or in course of law ; or an estate which the law casts on a child or other person, as the representative of the deceased an- cestor. An estate, or real property which a man has to himself and heirs, or the heirs of his bodj', &c., is termed afi-eehold of inheritance. INHIBITION, in law, a writ to forbid a judge's proceeding in a cause that lies before him. This writ generally issues out of a higher court to an inferior, and is of much the same nature as a prohibi- tion. INITIATIVE, in politics. In legisla- tive assemblies constituted so as to corL.- prise more than one chamber, or men than one distinct and co-ordinate power, that branch of the legislature to which belongs of right the power to propose measures of a particular class is said to have the initiative with respect to those measures. Thus in England all proposi- tions for taxing the subject, whether di- rectly or indirectly, must begin in the Commons ; a usage which has been adopted in most modern constitutions. On the other hand, there are some private bills which by custom originate in the Lords; and one bill, that, namely, for a general pardon, is proposed in the first instance by the crown. INJUNCTION, in law, a writ or pro- hibition granted in several cases ; and for the most part grounded on an inter- locutory order or decree, made in the court of chancery or exchequer, for stay- ing proceedings either in courts of law, or ecclesiastical courts. When the reason for granting an injunction ceases, the in- junction is dissolved. INJURY, in a legal sense, any wrong or damage done to another, either in hi? person, rights, reputation, or goods. Whatever impairs the quality or dimin- ishes the value of goods or property, is an irijurij; so also whatever imjiairs the hoaltli, weakens the mental faculties, or prejudices the character of a person, is an iiijunj. INLAND, in law, that part of any land or mansion which lay next to the mansion-house, and was used by the lord inq] AM> THK FINE AIMS. yi9 himself — In gcogrnphy. Ihrit which is sit- unted in the interioi- of a country reuinto from the ?ea-ci)ast — Inland bills, in com- merce, bills payable in the country whore they iire drawn 1NLAY'IN(t, the art of diversifying cabinet-work, or working in wood or raetal with several pieces of different colors, cu- rionsly put together. IN LIMINE, {Latin,) in the outset; before anything is said or done. INN, in England, a college of muni- cipal or common law professors and stu- dents ; formerly, the town-house of a no- bleman, bishop, or other distinguished personage, in which he resided when he attended the court. — Inns of court, col- leges or corporate societies hi which 'stu- dents of law reside and once were in- structed. The princi{)al are the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. Every candidate for the rank of barrister-at-law is obliged to be admitted a member of one of these societies, and to submit to its regulations as a student.— /;!?(s of Chancery, colleges in which young stmlents formerly began their law studies. These are now occu- pied chiefly by attorneys, solicitors, &c. INNATE IDE'AS, principles or ideas supposed to be stamped on the mind from the first moment of its existence, and which it constantly brings into the world with it : a doctrine which has given rise to much discussion, and which the cele- brated Locke took great pains to refute. INNOCENTS' DAY, a festival ob- served in the church on the 28th of De- cember, in memory of the children that were slain bv command of Herod. INOCULA'TION, the insertion of poi- sonous or infectious matter into any part of the body ; but in this country the phrase is commowers are consiilercd, apart from the animating principle, or the ifi7/, and from the source of the passions. A clear intellect receives and entertains the same ideas which another communicates with perspicuity. In the philosophy of Kant, the intellect is distinguished into two fao int] A>D Till-. FINK A UTS. 320 ultie5, understanding and reason. The understanding, acting on experience, merely compares, judges, and measures its representations, and is conversant solely with their mutual limits and rela- tions, classifying them according to cer- tain schemes of its own which are called categories. While, however, the under- standing is thus limited, the activity of the reason is unbounded, and as the prin- ciple of principles, it is the base and the verification of every special principle and reasoning. — I}\TEXD'ANT. a word much u.sed in France, denoting a person who has the charge, direction, or management of some otSce or department ; as an intendant of marine, an intendant of finance, &g. INTER'CALARY DAY, in the calen- dar, a day inserted out of the usual order to preserve the account of time. Thus every fourth year containing 360 days, while the other years contain only 365, one of the months in that year must have an additional day, which is called the intercalary day. The additional day was given to February, as being the shortest month, and in the ancient Roman calendar was inserted between the ■24th and 25th days. In the ecclesiastical cal- endar it still retains that jilace ; but in the civil calendar it is the 29th. INTERCES'SION, in Roman antiquity, the act of a tribune of the people, where- by he inhibited the act of another magis- trate, or prevented the passing of a law in the senate, which was usually done by the single word veto. IXTERCOLUMNIA'TIOX, in archi- tecture, the space between two columns, which is always to be proportioned to the height and bulk of the columns. It is one of the most important elements in architecture, and on it depend the effect of the columns themselves, their propor- tion, and the harmony of an edifice. IN'TERDICT, in ecclesiastical history, a spiritual weapon, by which the popes used in fv)rmer times to reduce individuals or whole states to the most abject submis- sion to their power. In the middle ages it was the most terrible blow which could be inflicted on the people or the prince. AVhen an interdict was laid on a kingdom all spiritual services ceased ; the church- es were shut up ; the sacraments were no longer administered ; no corpses were buried with funeral rites ; and all the ministry of the church which was then believed to be the only channel of salva- tion was forbidden to be exercised. The first memorable occasion on v?hich this j method of warfare was adopted was the marriage of King Robert of France with j Bertha his cousin, when Gregory V. ! in 998 issued interdicts against the whole I country, and compelled the sovereign to { dissolve his union. It had, however, j been often used before by bishops ; an instance is quoted by Moreri as early as A.D. 870. The ban under which England was laid in the reign of John by inno- [ cent III. is well known in the history of that country The latest pretensions to the exercise of this power were as- sumed by Pius VII., when he issued an in- etiieient decree against Napoleon in 1809. INTERIM, in modern European his- tory, the name given to a decree of the Emperor Charles V., after the overthrow of the Protestant League of Smalcalde, in which he attempted to reduce to har- mony the conflicting opinions of the Prot- estants and Romanists. The use of the cap, however, and the marriage of the clergy, were the only points which he conceded to the Reformers ; and it be- came a question among them, and gave rise to many serious disputes, whether they could conscientiously submit even to a temporary decree of such a nature. The enactments of the interim were intended only to remain in full force till some defin- itive settlement could be made ; whence it derives the name by which it is gene- rally known. It received the force of law at the Diet of Augsburgh, in 1548. Its provisions against the Protestants were however, in most respects, set agide by the treaty of Passau, 1552. * " INTERJECTION, in grammar, an in- declinable part of speech, serving to ex- press some passion or emotion of the mind ; as, " Alas ! my fondest hopes are now forever fled !" INTERLACING ARCHE.S, in archi- tecture, circular arches which intersect each other, as in the figure. They are fre- Interlacing Arcade, Norwich Cathedral quent in arcades in the Norman style of the twelfth century, and from them Dr. Milner supposed the pointed arch to have hid its origin. 324 CVCLOl'KL'lA OK LI 1 KK ATL^ i; K [iNT INTERLOCUTOR, in literary piira- seology, a person who is introduced as taking part in a dialogue ; in dramatic literature, termed dramatis persona : the latter name, liowevor, comprehends such as appear on the stage but take no part in speaking, termed by the Greeks mute personages. INTERLOCUTORY Order or Decree, in law, an order that does not decide the cause, but only some matter incident thereto, which may h;ippen in the inter- mediate stage of a cause ; as when, in chancer}', the plaintiff obtains an order for an injunction until the hearing of the cause ; which order, not being final, is called interlocutory. INTERLUDE, "in the drama, alight entertainment exhibited on the stage be- tween the principal performance and the afterpiece. At pret^ent, the term inter- lude is applied principally to small comic operas, written for two or three persons. In ancient trageily, the chorus sung the interludes between the acts. IN'TERMEDE, or INTERMEZZO, in dramatic literature, nearly the same with interlude. A short musical piece, generally of a burlesque character ; but man}', not intended merely for introduc- tion between the acts of a more serious performance, are comprised under these names bv the French and Italians. INTERN UN CIO, an envoy of the jope, sent to small states and republics, distinguished from the nuncio who repre- sents the pope at the courts of emperors and kings. Also a species of diplomatic otlicers, who ranked, according to the olil jjractice, between ambassadors and pleni- potentiaries. INTERPOLA'TION, in philological criticism, the insertion of spurious pas- sages in the writings of some ancient author. INTERREG'NUM, the time during which a throne is vacant in elective king- doms; for in such as are hereditary, like that of England, there is no such thing as an interregnum . INTEKROGA'TION, in grammar, a character or ]ioint (?) denoting a ques- tii n, as. Do you love me 7 — Interroga- tion, in rhetoric, a figure containing a proposition in the form of a question. INTEUROG'ATORY, in law. a ques- tion in writing demanded of a witness in a cau.-e who is to answer it under tlic solemnity of an oath. IN'TERVAL, in music, the difference between the number of vibrations, pro- duced by one tonorous body of a certain magnitude and texture, and of those pro- duced by another of a different magni- tude and te.xture. in the same ti:ue. The ancients divided the intervals into simple or uncomposite, which they call diastems, and composite intervals, which they call systems. Modern musicians consider the semitone as a simple interval, and onlv call those composite which consist of twa or more semitones. INTONA TION, in music, the act of sounding the notes in the scale with the voice, or any other given order of musi- cal tones. It consists, in fact, in giving to the tones of the voice or instrument that occasional impulse, swell, and de- crease, on which, in a great meiisure, all expression depends. INTOXICATION, the state produced by the e.xcessive use of alcoholic liquids. It may be called progressive madness. Its first stage is marked by an increased circulation of the blood ; the conscious- ness is not yet attacked, the fancy i.s more lively, and the feeling of strength and courage is increased. In the sectmd stage, the effect on the brain is more de- cided : the peculiarities of character, and the faults of temperament, which in his sober moments the individual could con- trol and conceal, manifest themselves without reserve. Consciousness, in the next stage, becomes more weakened : the balance of the body cannot be kept, and dizziness attacks the brain. In the ne.xt degree, the soul is overwhelmed in the tumult of animal excitement ; conscious- ness is extinguished ; the organs of speech refuse to i)erforni their otfiee, or the tongue pours forth an incoherent jargon ; the face is red and swollen ; the eyes are protruded and meaningless ; and the drunkard falls into a state of stupor and insensibility. INTRANSITIVE, in grammar, an epithet for a verb that expresses actions that do not pass over to an object, as I go, I come, I sleep, Ac. IN TR AN SITU, a Latin expression, signifying, during the passage from one place to another. INTREXCH'MENT, in fortification, any work that shelters a post against the attacks of an enemy. IN'TROIT, in ecclesiastical antiqui- ties, the verses chanted or repeated at the first entering of the congregation into the church ; a custom as (dil as the fourth century: called " ingrcssa" in the Am brosian ritual. INTRUSION, in law, a violent or nn lawful seizing upon lands or tenements. ixvj AND lilK FINK AIMS. 32; INTUI'TION, the act by which tho mind perceives the agreeniciit or tlis- agreemeiit of two ideas, or the truth ot" things, immediately, or the moment they are presented, without the intervention of other ideas, or without reasoning and deduction. Intuition is the most simple act of the reason or intellect, on which, according to Locke, depends the certainty and evidence of all our knowledge ; which certainly every one finds to be so great, tliat he cannot imagine, and therefore cannot renuire, greater. In the philoso- phy of Kant, the term intuition is used to denote the single act of the sense upon outward objects according to its own laws. INTUITIVE, perceived by the mind immediately, without the intervention of argument or testimony; e.\hibit,ing truth to the mind on bare inspection ; as, in- tuitive evidence. The different species of intuitive evidence, according to Dugald Stewart, are, 1. The evidence of axioms ; 2. The evidence of consciousness ; of per- ception and of memory ; 3. The evidence of tho.?e fundamental laws of human be- lief which form an essential part of our constitution, and of which our entire con- viction is implied, not only in all specu- lative reasonings, but in all our conduct as active beings. Of this class is the evi- dence for our own personal identity; for the existence of the material world ; for the continuance of those laws which have been found, in the course of our past ex- perience, to regulate the succession of phenomena. Such truths no man ever thinks of stating to himself in the form of propositions; but all our conduct and all our reasonings proceed on the suppo- sition that they are admitted. Every step which the reason makes in demon- strative knowledge has intuitive certain- ty; and, consequently, the power of rea- son presupposes that of intuition. IN' VALID.?, those soldiers or sailors who, either on account of wounds or length jf service, are admitted into hospitals, and there maintained at the jinblic ex- pense. The practice of m.aking provision for soldiers worn out or disabled in the public service dates from high antiquity. The liberality of Pisistratus to the Athe- nian soldiers is known to every scholar ; and the history of ancient Rome is re- plete witli instances of the veterans of the legions being rewarded with grants of land. It must be admitted, however, thit in ancient times such recompenses h:id not their origin in that high philanthropic feeling by which the moderns are actu- ated in making provision for military and naval invalids; for they were granted only after victory, and eman.ited moro from individual power or favor tiian from any general or established principles of benevolence. In modern times there is no civilized country without institutions for the maintenance of invalids ; but the most magnificent are, without question, the Greenwich and Chelsea hosiiitals in England, and iii France the Hotel des In- validcs. INVENTION, the action or operation of finding out something new; the con- trivance of that which did not before ex- ist ; as, the invention of logarithms ; the in- vention of the art of printing ; the inven- tion of the orrery. Invention differs from discovery. Invention is applied to the contrivance and production of something that did not before exist. Discovery brings to light that which e.xisted before, but which was not known. We are in- debted to invention for the thermometer and barometer. We are indebted to dis- covery for the knowledge of the islands in the Pacific ocean, and for the knowl- edge of galvanism, and many species of earth not formerly known. This distinc- tion is important, though not always ob- served. — That which is invented. The cotton gin is the invention of Whitney ; the steamboat is the invention of Fulton. The Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders are said to be inventions of the Greeks; the Tuscan and Composite are inventions of the Latins. — In painting, the finding or choice of the objects which are to enter into the composition of the piece. — In poetry, it is applied to whatever the poet adds to the history of the subject. — In rhetoric, the finding and selecting of ar- guments to prove and illustrate the point in view. INVER'SION, in rhetoric and philolo- gy, the transposition of words out of their natural order. Every language has a customary arrangement of its own to reg- ulate the order of succession in which words forming part of the same sentence, member, or proposition follow each other. On the other hand, there is undoubtedly a natural or philosophical order of words following each other in the same analyt- ical succession in which ideas present themselves to the mind, varied occasion- ally by that produced by the succession of sentiments or emotions ; and as in eve- ry language many customary phrases, if not the general arrangement of the words, are contrary to this primitive order, evo- ry language has customary invcrsi.'>ns of its own. Deviations from the cu£.'o/n.a/-»/ 326 CVCL0;"1;DIA ok LliKRATUaE [loy order of words arc more commonly called transpositions ; but each word has, of course, a relative and somewhat arbitra- ry signiflcaliou. As an instance of ordi- nary inversion, it may be observed that, according to the metaphysical or analyt- ical order, the subject of a proposition precedes the predicate, being the first idea which presents itself to the mind. Thus, in the construction of a sentence contain- ing a proposition, "Solon is wise," or "Alexander reigns," we habitually fol- low the order of nature. But when a sub- stantive and adjective in connection form part of a sentence, i. e , a subject or pred- icate, or a part of either, the substantive is that which seems naturally to present itself first to the mind ; whereas in most modern languages it follows the adjective, Avhile in the (xreek and Latin its ordinary although not its necessary place was be- fore it : " Who is a wise man ? ' " Vir bonus est quis7" "The end of a long silence." " Finis silentii diuturni." It is in general to be observed, that modern languages admit far less readily than an- cient of transposition ; but there are con- siderable differences in this respect be- tween modern languages themselves. German admits much latitude, French very little. In our own language we are frequently able to vary the analytical or- der by following what maybe termed the order of emotion, where a French writer could not do so : thus in the proposition, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians," it would be impossible, in French, to give the force which is added to the expression by the transposition of the ])redicate to the beginning without violating the ha- bitual rules of construction. A similar instance of inversion is to be found in the Swedish and some kindred languages, in which the article follows instead of pre- ceding the noun. — Inversion, in music, the change of place between two notes of an interval ; that is, placing the lower note an octave higher, or the higher note an octave lower. INVERTED ARCH, in architecture, one wherein the lowest stone or brick is the key-stone. It is used in foundations, to distribute the weight of particular points over the whole extent of the foun- dation, and hence its employment is fre- quently of the first imparlance in con- structive architecture. IXVES'TiTL'KE, in feudal law, the delivery of a fief by a lord to his vassal, accompanied by peculiar ceremonies. The investiture of a bishop was, properly speaking, his endowment with the fiefs and temporalities of the see. " Hence it became a subject of contest between the popes and emperors, and one of the prin- cipal grounds of the great quarrel ot Guelfs'.ind Ghibellines. It wivs conceded by the emperors to the Roman see in 1122; but the question was ended by a substantial compromise, which left the nomination in reality in the hands of the temporal prince in European monarchies under the Roman Catholic religion. INVOCA'TIOX, in literature, signi- fies, in a general sense, an address at the commencement of a j)oem, preferred to the Muses or some other being supposed capable of giving inspiration. Thus, while the ancient poets generally ad- dres.icd their invocations to some partic- ular muse or divinity, ^Milton invokes the "Heavenly Muse" and the " Holy Spirit;" and, in his Henriade, Voltaire calls to his aid " auguste Verite." IN'VOICE, in commerce, a written ac- count of the particulars of merchandise shipped or sent to a purchaser, factor. &c. with the value or prices and charges an- nexed. lON'IC DIALECT, the most eupho- nious of the four written varieties of the Greek language, was spoken by the in- habitants of the Ionian Islands, and in their colonial possessions in Asia Minor. It was originally the same as the Attic dialect, at least they boasted of a com- mon origin ; but from the extensive com- mercial intercourse of the lonians with the eastern nations, their language grad- ually imbibed a portion of Asiatic effem- inacy, which at length became its chief characteristic, forming a striking con- trast to that combination oQstrengili and harmony which distinguished the dialect of Attica. The chief writers in the lonio dialect are Herodotus, Hippocrates, and Galen : but it is in the writings of the first that tlie most complete specimen is to bo found. IONIC ORDER, one of the five or- ders of architecture. The distinguish- ing characteristic of this order is the volute of its capital. In the Grecian Ionic, the volutes appear the same on the front and rear ; being connected on the flanks by a baluster-like form ; through isaI AND HIE FINE AIMS. 327 the external angles of the capitals of the corner columns, however, a diagonal vo- lute is intro'luced. The Romans gave their Ionic four diagonal volutes, and curved the sides of the abacus. The Greek volute continues the fillet of the spiral along the face of the abacus, whereas in the Roman, its origin is be- hind the ovolo. In the modern Ionic cap- ital, the volutes are placed diagonally, and the abacus has its sides hollowed out. The shaft, including the base, which is half a diameter, and the capital to the bottom of the volute, generally a little more, is about 9 diameters high, and may be fluted in 24 flutes, with tillets between them; these fillets are semi-circular. The pedestal is a little taller and more orna- mented than the Doric. The bases used to this order are very various. The Attic base is very often used, and with an as- tragal added above the upper torus, makes a beautiful and appropriate base. The cornices of this order may be divided into three divisions, the plain Grecian cornice, the dentil cornice, and the mo- dillion cornice. The best examples of this order are the temple on the Ilissus, of Minerva Polias, and Erichtheus in the Acropolis, and the aqueduct of Adrian at Athens ; the temple of Fortuna Virilis, and the Coliseum at Rome. The bold- ness of the capital, with rhe beauty of the shaft, makes it eligible for porticoes, frontispieces, entrances to houses, &c. lON'IC PHILOSOPHERS, the earliest among the Greek schools of philosophy. Speculation arose in (}reece, as elsewhere. in the attempt to discover the laws of outward phenomena, and the origin and Buccessive stages of the world's develop- ment. Such an attempt, it is needless to say, must at first have been extremely rude. To the student of philosophical literature, however, no such undertaking, however unsuccessful, can possibly be otherwise than interesting ; and in this instance in particular we are able to dis- cover the manifest traces of that liveli- ness of thought and systematic spirit which distinguish the later Greek specu- lations. The fathers of the Ionic school were Thales and his disciple Ana.\imenes. They were succeeded in the same line of thought by Diogenes of Apollonia, and Heraclitus of Ephesus. The character- istic mark which distinguishes the specu- lations of these thinkers is the endeavor to refer all sensible things to one origi- nal principle in nature. The two first named were satisfied with a very simple solution '>f the problem. Water with the one, and air with the other, were made the original materials out of which all things arose, and into which they were finally resolved. In their successors the germs of a more philosophical doctrine are apparent. They retain, indeed, the simplicity of an original element ; but the air of Diogenes and the Jire of He- raclitus are apparently only sensible symbols which they used only in order to present more vividly to the imagination the energy of the one vital principle which is the ground of all outward ap- pearances. It would indeed be a mistake to regard these philosophers as material- ists. The distinction between objective and subjective, between a law operating in the universe, and the corresponding apprehension of that law by reason, how- ever obvious it may seem at the pres- ent day, seems to have required the deep meditation of numerous powerful think- ers to bring it into clear consciousness. But we meet also with a class of thinkers in whom the contrary tendency prevail- ed. Ana.ximander (b.c. 590) and Anax- agoras. the master of Pericles, agree in this respect, that they consider the world to be made up of numberless small particles, of different kinds and of various shapes, by the change in whose relative position all phenomena are to be account- ed for. This hypothesis is combined by Anaxagoras with a Supreme Reason, the author of all that is regular and harmo- nious in the disposition of these element- ary atoms. Anaxagoras may indeed be considereil as the first philosopher who clearly and broadly stated the leading distinctions between mind and matter. I'RONY, a mode of speech, or writing, expressing a sense contrary to what the speaker or writer means to convey. When irony is uttered, the dissimulation is generally apparent from the manner of speaking, which may be either accom- panied by an arch look or by affected gravity. ISA'IAH, or the Prophecy q/" Isaiah, a canonical book of the Okl Testament. Isaiah is the first of the four great pro- phets, the other three being Jeremiah, Ezekiel, iind Daniel. The style of Isaiah is noble, sublime and florid. Grotius calls him the Demosthenes of the He- brews. He had the advantage, above the other prophets, of improving his diction by conversing with men of the greatest learning and elocution ; and this added a sublimity, force, and majesty to what he said. He boldly reproved the vices of the age in which he lived, and 328 CVCLorEDIA OF LIJEUATURE [ivc openly displaj-eJ the judj^mcnts! of God that threatened the Jewish nation; at the same time denouncing vens^eance on the Assyrians, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Moabites, Edomites, Syrians, and Ara- bians, who were instrumental in inflict- ing those judgments. lie foretold the deliverance of the Jews from their cap- tivity in Babylon, by the hands of Cyrus, king of Persia, a hundred years before it came to pass ; but the most remarkable of his predictions are those concerning the Messiah, in which he not only foretold his coming in the flesh, but many of the great and memorable circumstances of his life and death. The whole, indeed, bears the stamp of genius and true inspi- ration. I'SIS, one of the chief deities in the Egyptian mythology. By the Egyptians she was regarded as the sister or sister- wife of Osiris, who concurred with her in the endeavor to polish and civilize their subjects; to teach them agriculture and other necessary arts of life. Among the higher, and more philosophical theolo- gians, she was made the symbol of i>an- thcistic divinity. By the people she was worshipped as the goddess of fecundity. The cow was sacred to her. She is repre- sented variously, though most usually as a woman with the horns of a cow, and sometimes with the lotus on her head, and the sistrum in her hand. IS'LAMISM, the practical as well as the doctrinal tenets of the Mohammedan religion, embracing the whole of their civil and religious polity. ISLANDS OF THE BLESSED, ac- cording to the Grecian mythology, the Happy Islands, supposed to lie westward in the ocean, whither after death, the souls of the virtuous were transported. In the early mythology of the Greeks, the Islands of the Blessed, the Elysian fields, and the infernal regions, were generally confounded with each other. ISOTOM'IC, in music, consisting of intervals, in which each concord is alike tempered, and in which there are twelve equal semitones. IS'SUE, in law, the legitimate off- spring of parents. Also, the profits a rising from lands, tenements, fines, &c. — The point of matter at issue between contending parties in a suit, is when a thing is affirmed on the one side, and denied on the other. IST'IIMIAN GAMES, so called be- cause they were celebrated in the Isth- mus of Corinth, which joins the Pelopon- nesus to the Continent, at the temple of Isthmian Xeptune, which was surrounded with a thick forest of pine. They were originally held in the night, and had perhaps fallen into disuse, when Theseus restored them, and ordered them to be celebrated in the day. The contests were of the same kind as at the Olympic games ; and so great was the concourse at these games, that only the principal people^ of the most remarkable cities, could have place. ITAL'IAX, a native of Italy, or the language spoken by its inhabitants. The origin of this beautiful and most harmo- nious tongue, is involved in great ob- scurity. ITAL'ICS, in printing, characters or letters (first used in Italy) which stand inclining; thus — Italic; and which are often used by way of distinction from Ro- man letters, for emphasis, antithesis, or some peculiar importance attached to the words in which they are employed. — Italicize, to write or print in Italic char- tictcrs. ITAL'IC SCHOOL OF PHILOSO- PHY, comprehends properly the Pytha- gorean and Eleatic systems taken to- gether; but sometimes it is used as synonymous merely with the school of Pythagoras. Under the several heads will be found the chief features of these philosophical systems, which, comprising as they do all that can be said in ret'cr- ence to the Italic school, it would seem unnecessary in this place further to ad vert to. The Italic school has been so designated from the fact that its founder, Pytliagoras, taught in Italy, spreadin;; his doctrine among the people of Ta- rentuni, Metapontum, Heraclea, Naples, I'VOllY, the tusks and teeth of the elephant, ami of the walrus or sea-horse ; a hard, solid substance, of a fine white creamy color, and greatly esteemed for the fineness of its grain, and the high polish ft is capable of receiving. That of India loses its color and becomes yel- low ; but that of Achem and Ceylon is free from this imperfectiim. Ivory is extensively used by cutlers in the manu- facture of handles for knives and forks ; by miniature painters for their tablets; by turners, in making numberless useful and ornamental objects, as well as for che.ss-mcn, billiard balls, toys. Ac.; also by musical and philosophical instrument makers; comb-makers; and by dentists for making artificial teeth; for which last-mentioned purpose the ivory of the walrus is preferred. The western and JACJ AND IIIK FINE A UTS. d2S eastern coasts of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, Jnilia, ami the coun- tries to the eastward of the straits of Malacca., are tliu jjre it marts whence supplies (f ivory are derived. Ivory articles are said to be manufactured to a greater extent, anil with better success, at Dieppe, than in any otiier place in Europe; but the preparation of this beautiful material is much better under- stood by the Chinese than by any other peoiilc. No European artist has hitherto succeeded in cutting concentric balls after the manner of the Chinese ; and their boxes, chess-men, and other ivory arti- cles, are all far superior to any that are to be met with anywhere else. The use of ivory was well known in very early ages. We find it employed for arms, girdles, sceptres, harnesses of horses, sword-hilts, &c. The ancients were also acquainted with the art of sculpturing in ivory, of dying and encrusting it. Homer refers to the extreme whiteness of ivory. The coffer of Cypselus was doubtless the most ancient monument of this kind in basso-relievo, and we meet with similar instances in the temple of Juno, at Olym- pius, in the time of Pausanias — that is to say, seven hundred years after it had been built. Antiquity possessed numer- ous statues of ivory, particularly in the temples of Jupiter and of Juno at Olym- pius. In these statues there was very frequently a mixture of gold. The most celebrated are stated to have been the Olympian .Jupiter and the Minerva of Phidias : the former was covered with a golden drapery, and seated on a throne formed of gold, of ivory and cedar-wood, and enriched with precious stones. In his hand the god held a figure of Victory, alike of ivory and gold. The Minerva was erected in the Parthenon at Athens during the first year of the eighty-seventh Olympiad, the year which commenced the Peloponnesian war. Pausanias, like- wise, makes mention of an ivory statue of .Juno, on her throne, of remarkable magnificence, by Polycletes, together with an infinity of others. I'VY, in mythological painting and sculpture, a plant, the leaves of which were made very plentiful use of by an- cient artists on vases, pedestals, altars, •tc. It was also, in the shape of a crown, the constant attribute of Bacchus, proba- bly because, being evergreen, it imjilicd, in an allegorical and at the same time elegant manner, the eternal youth of that deity. J, this letter, although very ancient, h.as been added to the English alphabet only in modern daj's. Its form was origi- nally identical with that of I, and it is only within the last century that any dis- tinction was made between them. The separation of these two letters in English dictionaries is of still more recent date. It seems to have had the sound of y in many words, ,is it still has in the German.' The English sound of this letter may be expressed by dzh, or edzh^ a compound sound coinciding exactly with that of o-, in genius ; the French J, with the articu- lation d preceding it. It is the tenth letter of the English alphabet, and the seventh consonant. JA'COBINS, in French history, a po- litical club, which bore a well-known part in the first revolution. It was first form- ed by some distinguished members of the First Assembly, particuliirly from Brit- tany, where revolutionary sentiments ran high. They took, at first, the name of Friends of the Kevolution ; but as, at the end of 1789, they held their meetings in the hall of a suppressed Jacobin monas- tery in the Rue Saint Ilonore, the name of Jacobins, at first familiarly given them, was finally assumed by themselves. The history of the J.acobin club is, in effect, the history of the Revolution. It con- tained at one time more than 2, .500 mem- bers, and corresponded with more than 400 attiliated societies in France. The club of the Cordeliers, formed by a small and more violent party out of the genera! body of Jacobins, was reunited with the parent society in June, 1791 ; but con- tinued to form a separate section within its limits. The Jacobin club, which had almost controlled the first assembly, was thus, during the continuance of the sec- ond, itself divided between two contend- ing parties; although the name of Jaco- bins, as a political partly, is commonly given to that section wliich opposed the Girondists or less moderate in tlieclub no less than in the assembly. .\f'ter the destruction of the latter under the Con- vention, the club was .again exclusively governed by the more violent among its own members, until the downfall of Robes- pierre. After tliat period it became un- popular ; ami its members having at- tempted an insurrection on behalf of the subdued Terrorists, November 11, 1794, the meeting was dispersed by force, and the club finally suppressed. Some wri 330 CYCLOl'KUIA OV I.nEUATUIlE [jAN ters, such ns Barrue,. nave seen in the first formation of this and similrtr socle- ties, the long-concocteJ operations of a conspiracy against legitimate governuio:"it and religion througliout Europe. The Jacobins, and tlie otlicr principal clubs of the Kevolution, adopted all the forms of a legislative assembly. In the consti- tution of 1792, their legal existence was recognized. See the historians of the French Revolution, especially Carlyle, Mignet, and Thiers, for general views ; Buchez et Roux, Ilisloire Parlemeii- taire de la Revolution I'^rangaise, for the most complete series of details respecting the Jacobins and their meetings which has yet been made public. — Jacobins, in ecclesiastical history, the religious of the order of St. Dominic were so called in France, from the situation of the princi- pal convent at Paris, near the Rue St. Jacques. JACOBITES, in English history, that party which, after the Revolution of 1688, adhered to the dethroned monarch James II., and afterwards to his descendants. In Scotland and Ireland, where the revo- lution was not effected except with the assistance of arms, the Jacobite party formed one of the two great divisions of each nation ; and although crushed in the latter country by conquest, they contin- ued in the former to comprise a large proportion of the population until long after the last rebellion in 1745. But in England the revolution was effected at first with the consent of all parties; the adherents to the exiled monarch were si- lenced : yet in a year or two, the Jaco- bite faction rose into strength, and con- tinued to harass the government of Wil- liam throughout his reign. Its immedi- ate cause was to be found in the refusal of a portion of the bishops and clergy to take the oaths to the new government, which gave, as it were, a certain consist- ency and tangible ground of opposition to the friends of the dethroned monarch in general. At the same time many of Wil- liam's chief advisers anil officers main- tained a secret correspondence with James II. at the French court, less from any at- tachment to his cause than with a view to secure their own interest in case of his return. After the death of James II. in France, and accession of Anne in Eng- land the efforts of the party languished for a time; but towards the close of her reign they revived, on the j)rospect of a change in the succession. In 1715, on the arrival of George I., broke out the unsuccessful first rebellion in Scotland : its ill conduct and failure proved a con- siderable check to the hopes of the Eng- lish Jacobites. Bishop Atterburj', the last of their bolder intriguers and adher- ents, w.is banished in 1722 : after which time it is probable that no extensive con- spiracy look place on. their part. In Scotland, however, the party maintained its strength unabated, until the second rebellion of 1745, by its complete failure, put an end to its political existence. — Jacobites, in ecclesiastical history, the monophysite Christians of Syria are so called, from Jacob Baradzi, who revived their belief and form of worship in that country and Mesopotamia, in the middle of the 6th century. Many unsuccessful attempts have been made at various times to unite them with the church of Rome. JACOBUS, a gold coin in the reign of James I. of the value of 25s. JACQUERIE, in history, the name popularly given to a revolt of the French peasantry against the nobilitj', which took place while king John was a prisoner in England, in 1356. Jacques Bonhomme was a term of derision applied by the nobles to the peasants, from which the insurrection took its name. It began ia the Beauvoisis, under a chief of the name of Caillet, and desolated Picard}-, Artois, and Brie, where savage reprisals were executed against the nobility for their oppressions. It was suppressed after some weeks by the dauphin and Charles the Bad, king of Navarre. A similar spirit in England produced, not many years afterwards, the rebellion of Wat Tyler. JACTITA'TION of Marriage, a suit in the ecclesiastical court, when one of the parties declares that ho or she is married, which if the other party deny, and no adequate proof of the marriage be brought, the offending party is enjoined silence on that head. JAMBS, in architecture, the side oi* vertical pieces of any opening in a wall, which bear the piece that discharges the superincumbent weight of such wall. JAN'IZARIES, or JAN'ISSARIES, the appellation given to the grand seig- nior's guard, or the soldiers of the Turk- ish infantry. They became turbulent, and rising in arras against the sultan, in May, 1826, were attacked, defeated, and subsequently abolished, and their places supplied by troops trained after the Eu- ropean manner. JAN'SENISTS, a denomination of Ro- man Catholics in France, who followed the opinon of Jansen, bishop of Ypres, and formed a considerable party in tho JEWj AND THE FIXE AilTS. 331 latter half of the 17th century. The Jan- senists were Calvinistic in many of their sentiments, and in several respects ap- proximated to the reformed opinions. They did not, however, separate them- selves from the Catholic church ; nor did they long survive the decree of Alexan- der VII., by which certain propo.sitions e.ttracted from their writmgs are con- demned as heretical. The Jansenists are chiefly celebrated for the contest thcj' maintained with the Jesuits, by whom they were at last overcome, and subjected to the enmity both of Louis XIV. and the pope. .TAX'lJARY. the first month of the year. By some the name is derived from Janus, a Roman divinity ; by others from janua. a gate. The months of January and February were inserted in the Ro- man year by Numa Pompilius. The Roman feast of the kalends of January seems to have been converted in the 6th century into the Christian festival of the circumcision. JA'NUS, a Latin deity, originally the same as the sun. lie was represented with two faces looking opposite ways, and holding a key in one hand, a staff in the other. He presided over the commence- ment of all undertakings, whence the first month in the year was named after him. His temple at Rome was kept open in the time of war, and shut in peace. The warlike disposition of the Romans is manifest from the fact that this temple was only shut si.x times in 800 years: viz., once in the reign of Numa; at the conclusion of the first Punic war ; thrice in the reign of Augustus ; and once again under Nero. JEAL'OUSY, that passion or peculiar uneasiness which arises from the fear that a rival may rob us of the affection of one whom we love, or the suspicion that he has already done it; or it is the uneasiness which arises from the fear that another does, or will enjoy some advantage which we desire for ourselves. A man's jealousy is excited by the atten- tions of a rival to his favorite lady. A woman's jealousy is roused by her hus- band's atfention.s to another woman. The candidate for office manifests a jealousy of others who seek the same office. The jealousy of a student is awakened by the apprehension that his fellow will bear away the palm of praise. In short, jeal- ousy is awakened by whatever may ex- alt others, or give them pleasures and ndvantages which we desire for ourselves. — Jcalousij is nearh allied to envy, for jealousy, before a good is lost by our- selves, is converted into envy, after it is obtained by others. JEIIO'VAII, one of the Scripture names of (jod, signifying the Being who is self-existent, and gives existence to others. This is the awful and inetf.ible name of the God of Israel, which was re- vealed to Moses ; denoting Him who is, who was, and who is to come. JEM'IDAR, in military affairs, a black oflicer, who has the same rank as a lieutenant in the East India Company's service. JES'UITS, or the Society of Jesus, the most celebrated of all the Romish reli- gious orders; founded by Ignatius Lo- yola, a Spaniard, in the year 1534, when he, with Francis Xavier and four or five other students at the university of Paris, bound themselves to undertake the con- version of unbelievers. As a religious body, the Jesuits differ from their pred- ecessors, inasmuch as, their principle being to conform as much as possible with the manners of the age, they have never adopted the austere observances and exclusive spiritual character upon which all earlier orders had grounded their claims to notoriety. They are di- vided into different classes ; of which only the 'professed take the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to their superior. Among the novices are fre- quently enrolled influential laymen, as was Louis the XIV. himself in his latter years ; and this is one of the means which the order has employed to extend its ef- ficiency where it would be least liable to observation. The professed are of sev- eral ranks, the whole body being under the absolute control of the general, whose abode is fixed in Rome, and whose coun- cil consists of an admonitor and five as- sistants or counsellors, who represent the five principal Catholic states — Italy, Ger many, France, Spain, and Portugal. To Rome, as the central seat of the order, are sent monthly communications from the superiors of the different provinces through which its members are distrib- uted. JEU D'ESPRIT', {French,) a witti cism or unexpected association of ideas JEWS, the descendants of Abraham, once an independent tribe in Palestine, but dispersed by the Romans; yet still distinguished by their religion, peculiar pursuits, and primitive customs. They are the negotiators of money between all nations, an I everywhere distinguished for their successful enterprise and accumu 332 CYCLOI'EUIA OF LITKUATLUE [j03 lations of wealth. The}- have, however, lost the distinction of twelve tribes, though perhaps more numerous than at any period. — See Judaism. JEW.S'-IIARP, an in.struinent of mu- sic, of a very imperfect character, which, placed between the teeth and by means of a spring struck by the finger, gives a sound which is modulated by the breath. By some it has been called the jaw^ s-harp, because the place where it is played upon is between the jaws. JOB, or the book of Job, a canonical book of the Old Testament, containing the narrative of a series of misfortunes which happened to a man named Job, as a trial of his patience and fortitude, to- gether with conferences which he held with his several friends on the subject of his iQisfortunes, and the manner in which he was restored to happiness. Many of the Jewish Rabbins pretend that this relation is purely a fiction ; others think it a sim- ple narrative of a matter of fact ; while a third class of critics acknowledge that the ground-work of the story is true, but that it is written in a poetical style, and decorated with peculiar circumstances, to render the narration more profitable and interesting. Such is the opinion of Gro- tius, who supposed that the events record- ed in it happened in Arabia, while the Hebrews wandered in the desert. The whole narrative is characterized by sim- plicity of manner and intensity of feel- ing, combined with pure and lofty senti- ments, illustrating in a striking manner, the nature of man and the providence of God. JOIIT^ BULL, the well-known collec- tive name of the English nation, was first used in Arbuthnot's satire, The History of John Bull, usually published in Swift's works ; in which the French are designated as Lewis Baboon, the Dutch as Nicholas Frog, itc. JOHN (St.) the EVANGELIST, the author of the (Jospel which bears his name, of the book of Revelations, which he wrote while an exile in the isle of Pat- mos, and of three Epistles. He was emphatically called " the disciple whom Jesus loved ;" and he was one of the most pure and estimable characters men- tioned in the Now T(^sfnin(mt. JOHN Till'] I'.Al'TIST, the inspired harbinger of the Messiah. His 7,eal, as one who came to " prepare the way" of a greater and more glorious prophet, was equalled only by his self-denial and humility. lie at last fell a victim to his independence and scvoro virtues, being beheaded by order of Ilerod Antipas, tc- trarch of Galilee, to gratify a vindictive woman. His disciples are said to have been the founders of the sect of Sabians. JOINT-.^TOCK, stock held in com- pany. Joint- Stock Companies, associa- tions of a number of individuals for the purpose of carrying on a specified busi- ness or undertaking. Thej' are generally formed for the accomplishment of exten- sive schemes of trade or manufacture, or the completion of some object of national and local importance, such as railways, bridges, canals, &c. They have also been found well adapted for the formation of banks. JOINT-TEN'ANCY, in law. a tenure of estate by unity of interest, title, time, and possession. JOINT'URE, in law, a wife's separate estate, secured by will, or by marriage settlement. In other cases the wife in- herits one third. JO'NAH, prophecy of, a canonical book of the Old Testament, in which it is related that Jonah, about the year 771, B c, was ordered to go and prophesy the destruction of the Ninevites, on account of their wickedness. But instead of obeying the divine command, he embark- ed for Tarshish, when a tempest arising, the mariners drew lots to determine who was the cause of it, and as the lot fell to him he was thrown into the sea, and was swallowed by a great riods of time. In the time of Romulus the legion consisted of 3,000 foot and 300 horse; though after the reception of the Sabines, it was augmented to 4,000. In the war with Hannibal it was raised to 5,000 ; after this it sunk to 4,000 or 4,500, which was the number in the time of Po- lybius. The number of legions kept in pay together, also difTered according to times and occasions. Each legion was divided into ten cohorts, each cohort into ten companies, and each company into two centuries. The chief commander of the legion was called Legatus (lieuten- ant.) The principal standard of a legion was a silver eagle ; and the legions were named from their commanders, (as the Claudian legion.) or from the place where they were stationed, &e. The word legion, w.as revived in the time of Napoleon; and has since been commonly applied to a body of troops of an indefi- nite number, and usually of different kinds; as the Kn''<"»R rri.'ses, coiunianders, offi- cers, and Ip.'rioiiaries ; all of whom re- ceive pensions with this mark of distinc- tion. LEG'ISLATOR, one who frames or es- tablishes the laws and polity of a state or kingdom. The term is chiefly applied to some di.*tinguished persons of antiquity, such as Moses among the Jews ; These- us, Draco, Solon, among the Athenians ; Lycurgus among the Spartans ; and Numa among the Romans. LEGISLATURE, the supreme power of a state. LEGlT'IMACy, a word which, in a political sense, is variously defined, ac- cording to the bias of the party by whom it is u.sed. But in its most commonly re- ceived acceptation, it denotes the lawful- ness of the government, in an hereditary monarchy, where the supreme dignity and power pass by law from one regent to another, according to the right of pri- mogeniture. — Legitimate means, accord- ing to law ; hence, children born in wed- lock are called legitimate, and those born out of wedlock are stjied illegitimate. LE'MURES, among the ancient Ro- mans, spectres or ghosts, believed to be the souls of the dead, which tormented men in the night. In order to lay them, a ceremony called lemnria was observed on the nights of the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May. LENT, a solemn time of fasting and abstinence in the Christian church, ob- served as a time of humiliation before Easter, the great festival of our Saviour's resurrection. It begins on Ash-Wednes- dav, and continues forty days. LE'OXIXE VERSE, a kind of Latin verse, consisting of hexameters and pen- tameters, of which the final and middle syllables rhyme. Some say it derived its name from pope Leo I. (a.d. 680,) others from Leonius, a poet of the 12th century. LES'SON.S, are certain ]iortions of the Scriptures read in most Christian churches during divine service, the performance of Tvhich in the nncient church devolved, among other duties, on the catechumen. In the English church, the course of lessons begins with the year at the book of Genesis, and, with the omission of the two books of Chronicles, continues through the Old Testament, including portions of the Apocrypha. In the second lessons, as they are called, the same course is followed with the New Testa- ment. In the Presbyterian church, the word lesson, in this sense, is unknown, though the pn.ctice of reading a portion of Scripture is almost universally adopt- ed ; but the selection of the pnssage is left to the choice of the officiating cler- gyman. LE'TIIE, in Greek mythology, the River of Oblivion : one of the streams of the infernal regions. Its waters possessed the quality of causing those who drank them to forget the whole of their fo/mor e.xistence In the si.xth book of Virgil's jUneid, the shades of the departed, after fulfilling their various destinies in the infernal regions during a thousand yoars, are brought to drink of the water of Lethe, as a preparation for their trans- migration into new bodies. LET'TER, a mark or character, writ- ten, printed, engraved, or paintt il ; used as the representative of a sound, or of an articulation of the human organs of speech. By sounds, and articulations or closures of the organs, are formed syl- lables and words. Hence a letter is the first element of written language, as a simple sound is the first element of spoken language or speech. As sounds are audible and communicate ideas to others by the ear, so letters are visible representatives of sounds, and communi- cate the thoughts of others by means of the eye. Letters are distinguished by grammarians into vowels, and consonants (which latter are again subdivided into mutes, and liquids) and diphthongs, ac- cording to the organ employed in their pronunciation. LEVANT', in geography, is applied in a general sense to any country situated to the eastward of us, or in the eastern part of any continent or country ; but, in a more contracted signification, it is given to that pnrt of the Mediterranean Sea bounded by Asi.a Minor on the north, Syria and Palestine on the east, Egypt and Barca on the south, and by the island of Candia and the rest of the Mediterra- nean on the west. LEVEE, in court phraseology, a cere- monial visit of the nobility, gentry, itc , who assemble to pay their respects to the queen (or king.) It consists of gentlemen only, by which it is distinguished from what is termed a drauring-room. where ladies as well as gentlemen attend. LEV'EE-EN-MAS.^E, a military ex- pression for the patriotic rising of a whole people, including all capable of bearing arms, who are not otherwise engaged in the regular service ; and is the most for- midable obstacle an enemy can enixjaa- ter. In Germany it is called the land- 352 CVCLOPEDIA U* 1.1TEKATUKK [LIB Sturm, in distinction from the landitehr, or militia. In 1813 the governments of Northern Germany calleil it forth in every part of the country. LEVIATHAN, a word which, in the Hebrew, .signifies a great fish. Some suppose, from the description of it in the book of Job, it means a whale, while others have presumed it is a crocodile. In Isaiah, however, it is called the crook- ed serpent. LE'VITES, a term applied in Scripture to such of the tribe of Levi as were em- ployed in the lower offices and ministries of the temple. In this particular, they were distinguished from the priests, who, being descended from Aaron, were like- wise of the tribe of Levi. The Levites bore some resemblance in the tabernacle, and temple of the Jews, to the deacons among Christians. They were employed in bringing wood, water, and other neces- saries for the sacrifice, and they sung and played upon instruments in the tem- ple. They also applied themselves to the study of the law, and were the ordinary judges of the country, though always subordinate to the priests. Their subsist- ence was the tithes of corn, fruit and cattle throughout Israel ; but the priests were entitled to a tenth of their tithes, by way of first-fruits to the Lord. LEVIT'ICUS, a canonical book of the Old Testament, so called from its con- taining the laws and regulations relating to the priests, Levites, and sacrifices. These duties, rites and ceremonies, formed what is termed the Ltevitical law. LEXICOL'OGY, or LEXICOG'llA- PIIY, a word used by some writers to e.xprcss that branch of philology which treats of words alone, independently of their grammatical and rhetorical uses ; considering their senses, their composi- tion and their etymology. LEX'ICON, a dictionary of words, or vocabulary ; originallj', and still usually, confined to dictionaries of the Greek or Hebrew tongues. The oldest Greek lex- icon is the Onomasticon, which was writ- ten 180 years before Christ : the oldest Hebrew lexicon belongs to the 9th cen- tury. LEZE-MAJ'E.«^TY, in jurisprudence, any crime committed against the sove- reign power in a state. The name is derived from the Roman phrase, "crimen hesaj majestatis," which denoted a charge brought against a citizen for acts of re- bellion, usurpation of office, and general misdemeanors of a political character, which were comprehended under the title of injuries to the " majesty of the Roinan people." The emperors transferred to all offences against themselves the same criminal character; and offences of le/.e- majesty were multiplied under their ar bitrary governments. LIBA'TION, among the Greeks and Romans, was an essential part of solemn sacrifices. It was also performed alone, as a drink offering, by way of procuring the protection and favor of the gods, in the ordinary affairs of life. At sacrifices, after the libation had been tasted by the priest, and handed to the bj-standers, it was poured upon the victim. At enter- tainments a little wine was generally poured out of the cup, before the liquor began to circulate. LI'BEL, in law, the malicious defama- tion of any person, either written or print- ed, in order to provoke him to anger, or to expose him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Any book, pamphlet, writing, or picture, containing such representa- tions, although only communicated to a single person, is considered in law a publication of it; and libellers maj- be brought to punishment by a prosecution, or be compelled to make reparation by a civil action. The civil .action is grounded upon the injury which the libel is sup- posed to occasion to the individual ; the public prosecution upon its tendency to provoke a breach of the peace. In a civil action, the plaintiff recovers dam- ages, the amount of which is settled by the jury: but, upon an indictment, the jury has merely to acquit the defendant, or to find him guilty, after which the court passes judgment. — Libel, in the ec- clesiastical and admiralty courts, is the name given to the formal written state- ment of the complainant's ground of com- plaint again,st the defendant. LI'BER, in Roman mythology, .a sur- name of Bacchus, in reference, perhaps, to the idea of his being a liberator or de- liverer. Liber was originally .an old divinity, who presided over fertility, and who was worshipped in connection with Libera (a name of Proserpine,) and^ Ceres. LIB'ERAL, in politics, a conventional name given to that party in a country which advocates progressive reform of abuses in the state, real or supposed. LIBERAL ARTS, such as depend mori! on the cxerti(m of the mind th.an on manual labor, and regard intellectual improvement and amusement, rather than the necessity of subsistence. LIBERA'LIA, a s.acred festival, with games ; so called from Liber, a Latin Lie] AND TIIK FISK A liTS. 353 name of Bacchus, in honor of which god they were celebrated at Koine. It was on occasion of this festival that the Ro- man youths who attaincil the age of seventeen assumed the wanly dress, or toga. LIBER'TAS, in the mythology of the Greeks and Romans, was a goddess wor- shipped with peculiar veneration. By the former she was invoked by the synony- mous title Eleutheria; and throughout all parts, both of Greece and Italy, statues, temples, and altajs were erected in honor of her. At Rome, her most famous tem- ple, built by T. Gracchus, was situated on the Aventine Mount. She was repre- sented under the figure of a woman, hold- ing in one hand a cap, the symbol of liberty, and two poniards in the other. In modern times a cap is also used as a symbol of libertj' ; thus, in France a red cap formed the badge of the Jacobin club. In England a blue cap with a white border is used as a symbol of the consti- tutional freedom of the nation, and Bri- tannia sometimes bears it on the point of her spear. LIBER'TUS, in Roman antiquity, a person who from being a slave had ob- tained his freedom. The libertl were such as had been actually made free themselves ; the lihertini were the chil- dren of such persons. LIB'ERT Y, freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty, when not confined; the will or mind is at liberty, when not checked or controlled. A man enjoys liberty, when no physical force operates to restrain his actions or volitions. — Natural liberty, consists in tlie power of acting as one thinks fit, without any restraint or con- trol, except from the laws of nature. It is a state of exemption from the control of others, and from positive laws and the institutions of social life. This liberty is abridged by the establishment of govern- ment. — Civil liberiij, is the liberty of moo in a state of society, or natural liberty, so far only abridged and restrained, as is neces.sary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state, or na- tion. A restraint of natural liberty, not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. Civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain ev-ery man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty. — Political liberty, is 23 sometimes used as synonymous with civii liberty. But it more properly designates the liberty of a nation, the freedom of a nation or state from all unjust abridg- juent of its rights and independence by another nation. Hence we often speak of the political liberties of Europe, or the nations of Europe. — Religious liberty, is the free right of adopting and enjoying opinions on religious subjects, and of worshipping the Supreme Being accord- ing to the dictates of conscience, without external control. — Liberty, in metaphys- ics, as opposed to necessity, is the power of an agent to do or forbear any particu- lar action, according to the determination or thought of the mind, by which either is preferred to the other. — Liberty of the press, is freedom from any restriction on the power to publish books ; the free power of publishing what one pleases, subject only to punishment for abusing the privilege, or publishing what is mis- chievous to the public or injurious to in- dividuals. LI'BRARY, a collection of books be- longing to a private person, or to a pub- lic institution or a company. — An apart- ment, or suite of apartments, or a whole building appropriated to the keeping of books. The most celebrated library of antiquity was the Alexandrian in Lower Egypt. The principal libraries of mod- ern times are the Royal library at Paris, the Bavarian State library at Munich, the Imperial library at Petersburg, the Imperial librar3' at Vienna, the Univer- sity library at Gottingen, the Royal li- brary at Dresden, the Royal library at Copenhagen, the Royal library at Berlin, the Vatican library at Rome, the Am- brosian library at Milan, the Bodleian library at Oxford, the Universitj' library at Cambridge, the library of the British Museum in London, the Advocates' li- brary in Edinburgh, and that of Trinity College in Dublin. LI'CENSE, in law, an authority given to a person to do some lawful act. A li cense is a personal power, and therefore cannot be transferred to another. If the person licensed abuse the power given him, he becomes a trespasser. A license may be cither verbal or written ; when written, the paper containing the author- itv is called a license. "LICEN'TIATE, in law, one who has full license to practise any art or faculty ; generally, a physician who has a license to practise, granted by the college of phj'- sicians. LIC'TOKS, in Roman antiquity, offi 154 CYCLOPEDIA OF l.ITERATUliK i.;g cersor beadles wlio carriel the fasces be- fore the cliief magistrates whenever they appeared in public. It was also a part of their duty to be the ]nil)Iic executioners in beheadiujj, scourging, ,tc. A dictator was attended by twent3--four lictors ; a consul by twelve ; the master of the horse, six; a prictor, six; and each vestal vir- gin had one. LIEdE, in law, a term used either as liege lord, signifying one that acknowl- edges no superior, or the chief lord of the fee ; or as liege man, ho who owes hom- ige and allegiance to the liege lord. By the term liege people is meant the sub- jects of a monarch, because they owe him their allegiance. LI'EN, in law, the right which one person, in certain cases, possesses of de- taining property belonging to another, when placed in his possession, until some demand, which the former has, is satis- fied. Liens are of two kinds : particular liens, that is, where the person in posses- sion of goods may detain them until a claim which accrues to him from those identical goods is satisfied ; and general liens, that is, where the person in posses- sion may detain the goods, not only for his claim accruing from them, but also for the general balance of his account with the owners. Some liens also are created by express agreement, and some by usage LIEUTEN'ANT, this word, like cap- tain, and many others, has received grad- ually a much narrower meaning than it had originally. Its true meaning is a deputy, a substitute, from the French lieu, (place, post,) and tenant, (holder.) A lieutenant general du royaume is a person invested with almost all the pow- ers of the sovereign. Such was the count d'.\rtois (afterwards Charles X.) before Louis XVIII. entered France, in 1S14. — Lieutenant-general was formerly the ti- tle of a commanding general, but at pres- ent it signifies the degree above major- general. — Ijieuienant-colonel is the offi- cer between the colonel and major. — Liieutenant, in military language, signi- fies the officer next below a captain. There arc first lieutenants, and second, or sous-lieutenants, with dilTercnt pay. — A lieutenant in the navy is the second officer next in command to the captain of a ship. — In Englatnl, the lord-lieutenant of a county has the authority to call out the militia in case of invasion or rebel- lion. The governor of Ireland is also called lord-lieutenant of Ireland. In gome English colonics, jointly under a governor-general, the chief magistrato of each separate colony is called lieuten- atit-gorernor. Many of the United States choose lieutenant-governors to act in case of the governor's death. LIfct'ATUllE, in music, the tie which binds several notes of like length to- gether, by which they appear in groups. Thus '^ ^ ^ u, four quavers, by means of a ligature at the top or bottom, assumn the formiMj , the line .connecting them being the ligature. LIGHT, that imponderable ethereal agent or matter which makes objects per- ceptible to the sense of seeing, but the particles of which are separately in- visible. It feas been believed that light is .a fluid or real matter, existing inde- pendent of other substances, with prop- erties peculiar to itself. Its velocity is astonishing, as it passes through a space of nearly twelve millions of miles in a minute. Light, when decomposed, is found to consist of rays din"erently color- ed ; as, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The sun is the prin- cipal source of light in the solar system ; but light is also emitted from bodies ig- nited, or in combustion, and is reflected from enlightened bodies, as the moon. Light is also emitted from -certain putre- fying substances. It is usually united with heat, but it exists also independent of it. The intensity of light, at difi"erent distances from a luminous body, is in- versely as the squares of those distances, so that in this respect it follows the samo law as heat, sound, and the force of grav- itj'. Light acts a very important part in the vegetable economy. The green color of plants and the hues of flowers entirely depend ujion it. It is also found to assist in developing the forms of some of the lower classes of animals. There are two theories respecting the nature of light. Some maintain that it is com- posed of material particles, which arc constantly thrown off" from the luminous body ; while others suppose that it is a fluid, diffused through all nature, and that the luminous body occasions waves or undulations in this fluid, by which the light is propagated in the same manner as sound is conveyed through the air. The first is called the corpuscular, the second the undulaforij theory; the lat- ter is now more generally entertained, several facts being wholly inexplicable on the former theory. The language, however, which is employed in treating lip] AND rill': KINK ARTS. •35L of light is, for the most part, acoorarao- dated to the former. — Light, in painting, the luoJiuiu by wliich objects are di.s- ccrned. In a picture it means the part the most illuminate 1. This may happen from natural light, as the sun or moon ; or from artificial light, as a fire, candle, Ac. The principal light is generally made to fall on the spot where the prin- cipal figures are placed, and generally near the centre of the picture. A re- flected light is that which a body in shad- ow receives from a contiguous light ob- LWHT'NING, a sudden discharge of electricity from a cloud to the earth, or from the earth to a cloud, or from one cloud to another, that is, from a body positively charged to one negatively charged, producing a vivid flash of light, and usually a loud report, called thun- der. Sometimes lightning is a mere in- stantaneous flash of light without thun- der, as heat-lightning, lightning seen by reflection, the flash being beyond the limits of our horizon. When the flash of lightning takes a zigzag course, or when it branches out, it is teruiedjorked lightning; when it has the appearance of a sudden and wide illumination, it is called sheet-light ning. LIM'BO, a region, supposed by some of the school theologians to lie on the edge or neighborhood of hell. This serv- ed as a receptacle for the souls of just men, not admitted into purgatory or heaven. Such were, according to some Christian writers, the patriarchs and oth- er pious ancients who died before the birth of Christ : hence the limbo was called Limbus Patrum. These, it was believed, would be liberated at Christ's second coming, and admitted to the priv- ileges of the blessed in heaven. Though some have asserted that, when our Saviour went down into hell, he liberated these souls, and carried them away with him into heaven. This latter idea is proba- bly an adorned representation of the re- markable passage in St. Peter's epistle, (i. 3, 19,) where he says that Christ )ireached to the spirits in prison ; and, baing held by certain of the later fathers, seems to have given some influence to the growing opinion in favor of a purga- tory. The limbus puerorum, or infan- tum, was a similiir receptacle allotted by some of the schoolmen to the souls of infants wlio die unbaptized. Dante has fixe 1 his liinbr), in which the distinguished spirits of antiquity are confined, as the outermost of the circle of his hell. The use which Milton has made of the same superstitious belief is well known. LIMITA'TION, in law, a certain time prescribed by statute, within which an action must be brought. LINE, in fortification, whatever is drawn on the ground of the field, as a trench, or a row of gabions, iod. Theognis ; of some prose writers, especially Herodotus and Hippocrates : and the j)oems of Pin- dar, Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus. The Doric dialect was of the greatest an- tiquity. We have few remains of Doric prose, which consists chiefly of mathe- matical or philosophical writings. Af- ter Alliens became the centre of litera- ry cult i vat i(jn in (Jrcece, the works of yEschylus, .Sophocles, Euripides. Aris- tophanes, Thucydides, Xenophon, Plato, Isocrates, Dcmos-thenes, and so forth, were regarded as standards of style, a;id made the Attic the common dialect of literature. Poetry, however, was nut written in the Attic dialect. The pecu- liarities of Homer were imitated by ali subsequent poets, except the dramatists, and even they assumed the Doric to a certain degree in their choruses, for the sake of the solemnity of expression which belonged to the oldest liturgies of the Greeks. According to the gen- eral tradition, Cadmus the Phrenician, was the first who introduced the alpha- bet into Greece. His alphabet consisted of but sixteen letters; four are said to have been invented by Palamedes in the Trojan war, and four more by Simonides of Ceos. It has been maintained how- ever by some persons, that the art of writing was practised by the Pelasgi before the time of Cadmus. On the other hand, many of the most sagacious critics, place the origin of writing in Greece at a much later period. The origin of Greek literature, or the intellectual cultivation of the Greeks, by written works, dates at a period of which we have few historical metnorials. The first period of Grecian cultivation, which extends to 80 j'ears after the Trojan war, is called the ante-Homeric period, and is destitute of any literarj' remains, proper- ly deserving the name. Of the poets previous to Homer, nothing satisfactory is known. The most ancient was Oien, who is mentioned by Pausanias. He was followed by Linus, Orpheus, ]Musa;us, and others, but the poems which arc circu- lated under their names cannot be re- garded as their genuine productions. It was in the Greek colonies of Asia Minor, that the first great impulse was given to the development of literature ; and among them we find the earliest authen- tic specimens of Greek poetry and his- torical composition. Situated on the borders of a noble sea, enjoying a climate of delicious softness and purity, abound- ing in the most nutritious and tempting products of nature, whose fertility was not inferior fo its beautj', these colonies possessed a character of refined voluptu- ousness, which, if not favorable to the performance of great deeds, allured the dreamy spirit to poetical contemiilalione, 358 r-YCl.drKIiIA OF LMEUATrRR [lit and was manife»teil in noble creations of the fancy, which have not been surpassed in the progress of cultivation. Living near the scene of the Trojan war, the bards devoted their first poems to the celebration of Grecian iieroisin. AViih them, commenced the second period of Greek literature, which we call the Epic age. Of these. Homer alone has survived. We have from hira the two great poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, with several hymns and epigrams. lie gave his name to the llomeridffi, an Ionian school of minstrels, who preserved the old Homeric and epic style, and who are probably the .authors of much that has been ascribed to Homer himself. Ne.xt to the Homerida?. come the Cyclic poets, whose works emhraee the whole circle of mythology and tradition, de- scribing the origin of the gods and of the world, the adventures of the Heroic times, the Argonautic expedition, the labors of Hercules and Theseus, the principal events of the Theban and Trojan wars, and the fortunes of the Greeks after the fall of Troy. A transition between these historic-poets and the later school of lon'an minstrelsy, is formed by Hesiod, who conducted poetry back from Asia Minor into Greece. Of the sixteen works ascribed to hira, we have the Theogony, the Shield of Hercules, and Works and Days, the last, an agricultural poem, in- terspersed with moral reflections and pru- dential maxims. The third period commences with the growth of lyric poetry, of apologues and philosophy, with which history gained a new development and a higher degree of certainty. Lyric poetry sprung up on the decline of the Epic school, and was much cultivated from the beginning of the epoch of the Olympiads (77(5 b c.) to the first Persian war. The poems of this psriol are ennsidered among the most valuable productions of (Grecian litera- ture. Many of them resembleil the epic, and contained the subjects of heroic song. Thftv were sung by bunds of youths and maidens, nccomjKinied by instrumental music. Among the most celebrated of the lyric poets were .\rchilochus of Paros, the inventor of the Iambus; Tyrtfcus, Terpander, and Alcman, whose martial strains or.kinnil I'unic war, and wrote !i complete history of Romu. Their style was meagre and insipid, aiming only at brevit}', and entirely destitute of ornament or grace. With the age of Augustus, in which some earlier writers are usually reckoned, a new spirit is exhibited in Roman litera- ture. In didactic poetry, Lucretius sur- passed his Grecian masters, by the force of thought and the splendor of diction, which characterize his great philosophical poem on the origin of the universe. Ca- tullus attempted various styles of poetry, in all of which he obtained eminent suc- cess. His lyric and elegiac poems, his epigrams and satires, are marked by singular versatility of feeling, frequent flashes of wit, and rare felicity of e.\- pression. Among the elegiac poets, of whose genius we still possess the remains, the highest distinction was gained by Ti- ballus., Prcpertius and Ovid. The former of these poets was pronounced by Quinc- tiiian to be the greatest master of elegiac verse ; Ovid possessed an uncommon fer- tility of invention and ease of versifica- tion ; while Propertius tempers the vo- luptuous cast of his writings with a certain dignity of thought and vigorous mode of expression. The great lyric poet of the Augustan age is Horace, whose graceful and sportive fancy, com- bined with his remarkable power of deli- cate and effective satire, continues to make him a favorite with all who have the slightest tincture of cla.er- spective, the right side of any plane, i. e. the siilo or plane that lies parallel to a straight line which may be imagined to pass through the outward convex points of the eyes, continued to a convenient length. O'RUS, an Egyptian god, son of Isis and Osiris, according to Herodotus; an- sweiingto the Greek Apollo. He frequent- ly appears in Egyptian paintings sitting on the lap of Isis. OSIAN'DRIANS, in ecclesiastical his- tory, a sect among the Lutherans ; so called from their founder Osiander, a celebrated divine. They differed from the followers of Luther and Calvin as to the efficient cause of the justiDcation. OSI'RIS, in mythology, one of the chief Egyptian divinities, the brother and hus- band of Isis, and, together with her, the greatest benefactor of Egypt, into which he introduced a knowledge of religion, laws, and the arts and sciences. After having accomplished great reformations at home, he visited the greater part of Europe and Asia, where he enlightened the minds of men by teaching them the worship of the gods and the arts of civilization. He was styled " the Manifester of (lood ;" and to this title he had an undisputed right, for he appeareil on earth to benefit mankind ; and after having performed the duties he had come to fulfil, and fallen a sacrifice to Typhon the evil principle (which was at length overcome by his influence after his leaving the world,) he •' rose again to a new life," and became the "judge of mankind in a future state." Other titles of Osiris were, " President of the ^Vest," " Lord of the East," " Lord of Lords," " Eternal Ruler," " King of the Gods," Ac. Osiris has been identifioil with many of the Grecian divinities ; but more espe- cially with Jupiter, Pluto, and with Bac- chus, on account of his reputed conquest of India. Osiris was particularly wor- shipped at Philae and Abydus : so shal en- trance into Jerusalem, when palm branch- es were strewed in the way. PAN, tho chief rural divinity of the Greeks, who presided over flocks and herds. Ho was said by some to be tho son of Mercury ; ami his birtln)lace was Arcadia, to which province his worship seems to have been confined in early pan] AND THE FINK AUTS. 449 times. The introduction of his worship into the other Grecian states is thus ac- counted for. He was represented with the head and breast of an elderly ni;in, while his lower parts were like the hind quarters of a goat, whose horns he like- wise bore on his forehead. His emblems were the shepherd's crook and pipe of seven reeds, his own invention, PANATHEN.E'A, in Grecian anti- quity, an ancient Athenian festival, in honor of Minerva, who was the protec- tress of Athens, and called Athena. There were two solemnities of this name, one of which was called the greater panathe- ncea, and celebrated once in five years. These were distinguished from the less (which were celebrated every third year) not only by their greater splendor and longer continuance, but particularly by the solemn procession, in which the pe- plus, a sacred garment, consecrated by young virgins, and made of white wool, embroidered with gold, was carried from the Acropolis into the temple of the god- dess, whose ivory statue was covered with it. This festival was so lioly, that crimi- nals were released from the prisons on the occasion of its celebration, and men of distinguished merit were rewarded with gold crowns. PANCRA'TIUM, among the ancients, a kind of exercise which consisted of wrestling and boxing. In these contests it was customarj' for the weaker party, when he found himself pressed by his adversary, to fall down, and fight rolling on the ground. PAN'DECT.S, the name of a volume of the civil law, digested by order of the emperor Justinian. PAN'DIT, or PUN'DIT, a learned Brahmin ; or one versed in the Sanscrit language, and in the sciences, laws, and religion of the country. PANDOUR.S', a kind of light infantry, firmerly organized as separate corps in the Austrian service ; raised from the Servian and Rascian inhabitants of the Turkish frontier, and originally under leaders of their own, styled Harumbachas. Since IT,'?.^, they have been included in the regular army. PANEGYRIC, in oratory, an eulogy or haranizine, written or spokeii, in praise of an individual or body of men. Among the ancients, orations were recited in praise of the departed on various occa- sions, before solemn assemblies : hence the name. Among the later Romans, the baser practice prevailed o' reciting panegyrical orations on distinguished 29 living persons in their presence. Among the moderns p'^inogyrieal oratory has been chiefly confined to funeral discourses from the pulpit. PAN'EL, in law, a schedule or /oil of parchment on which are written the names of the jurors returned by the sheriff. Impanelling a jury, is returning their names in such schedule. PAN'IC, an ill-grounded terror in- spired by the misapprehension of danger. The origin of the word is said to be de- rived from Pan, one of the captains of Bacchus, who with a few men routed a numerous army, by a noise which his soldiers raised in a rocky valley favored with a great number of echoes. Hence all ill-grounded fears have been called panic fears. PAN'OPLY, literally all the armor that can be worn for defence : complete .armor. PAXORA'MA, a picture in which all the objects of nature that are visible from a single point are represented on the in- terior surface of a round or cylindrical wall, the point of view being in the axis of the cylinder. The rules according to which the different objects are represent- ed in perspective are easily deduced from the consiileration that the lines on the panorama are the intersections of the cylindrical surface of the picture, with one or more conical surfaces having their summits at the point of view, and of which the bases are the lines of nature which the artist proposes to represent. In executing this kind of perspective, the artist divides the horizon into a conside- rable number of parts, twenty, for exam- ple, and draws, in the ordinary way, on a plane surface, a perspective view of all the objects comprised in each of these portions of the horizon. He then paints on a canvass, representing the develop- ment of the cylindrical surface, the twen- ty drawings, in as many vertical and parallel stripes; and the picture is com- pleted by stretching the canvas on the cylindrical wall of the rotunda which is to contain the panorama. When a paint- ing of this kind is well executed, its truth is such as to produce a complete illusion. No other method of representing objects is so well calculated to give an exact idea of the general aspect and appearance of a country as seen all round from a given point. PANT HE' A, in antiquity, statues com- ])osed of the figures or symbols of several divinities. PAN'THEISM, in metaphysical thool- 450 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE [PAB ogy, the theory which identifies nature, or the universe in its totality with God. This doctrine differs frnni atheism in the greater distinctness with which it asserts the unity an'CY, bank notes or bills issued by the credit of government, and circulaicd as the representative of coin. In a more extensive sense, these terms may denote all kinds of notes and bills of exchange. PA PLS T, one that adheres to the doc- trines and ceremonies of the church of Rome ; a Roman Catholic. PAPY'RUS, an Egyptian sedge-like plant, or reed-grass, which has acquired an immortal fame in consequence of its leaves having furnished the ancients with paper. It grows in the marshes of Egypt or in the stagnant places of the Nile. Its roots are tortuous, and in thickness about four or five inches ; its stem, which is tri- angular and tapering, rises to the height of ten feet, an(i is terminated by a com- pounil, wide spreading, and beautiful umbel, which is surrounded with an in- volucre composed of eight large sword- shaped leaves. The uses of the papyrus were, however, by no means confined to the making of paper. The inhabitants of the countries where it grows, even to this day, manufacture it into sail-cloth, cordage, and sometimes wearing apparel. PAR, (Latin, equal,) in commerce, is said of any two things equal in value; and in money-affairs, the equality of on* kind of money or property with another: thus, when $100 stock is worth exactlj' $100 specie, the stock is said to bo at par; that is, the purchaser is required to give neither more nor less of the commodity with which he parts, than he receives of that which he acquires : thus, too, the par of exchange is the equal value of money in one country and another. P.V'R.A, a Turkish coin, very small and thin, of copper and silver, the fortieth part of a Turkish piaster. PAR' ABLE, a liable or allegorical rep- resentation of something real or appar- ent in life or nature, from which a moral is drawn for instruction. Parables are certainly a most delicate way of impress- ing disagreeable truths on the mind, and in many cases have the advantage of a more open reproof, and even of formal lessons of morality : thus Nathan made David sensible of his guilt by a parable i parJ AND THE FINE ARTS. 451 and thus our Saviour, in compliance with the customs of the Jews, who had a liind of natural genius for this sort of instruc- tion, spoke frequently in parables, most beautifully construcleil, and calculated to convince them of their errors and pre- ju dices. PARACEL'SIAN, a name given to a physician who follows the practice of Paracelsus, a celebrated Swiss physician and alchymist who lived at the close of the 15th century, and who performed man}' extraordinary cures by means to- tally unknown to the generality of medi- cal practitioners of his time. PARACH RONISM, an error in chro- nology, by which an event is related as having happened later than its true date. P AR'ACLETE, a name attached to the Holy Spirit, as an advocate, intercessor, or comforter of mankind. It was not an uncommon opinion of the early heretics, that the Paraclete, whose mission was promisedby Christ, was to appear corpore- ally upon the earth, and complete the dis- pensation announced by our Lord and the apostles ; and they drew a distinction be- tween the person of the Comforter and the etfusion of his grace upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Accordingly, several of them, Simon Magus, Manes, and others, gave themselves out as this expected Paraclete; and Tertullian him- self was at one period infatuated by the claims advanced by Montanus to this personification. PARACROS'TIC, a poetical composi- tion in which the first verse contains, in order, all the letters which commence the remaining verses of the poem or division. According to Cicero, the original sibylline verses were paracrosties. PAR'ADIGM, in grammar, an example of fl verb conjugated in the several moods, tenses and persons. PAR'ADISE, a region of supreme fe- licity; generally moaning the garden of E len, in wljich Adam and Eve were placed immediately after their creation. The locality of this happy spot has been as- signed, by different writers, to places the most opposite. In truth there is scarcely any part of the world where Paradise has not been sought for. The most probable opinion is, that it was situated between the confluence of Euphrates and Tigris, and their separation ; Pison being a branch arising from one of them after their separation, — and Gihon, another branch arising from the other, on the western side. — When Christians use the word, they mean that celestial paradise, or place of pure and refined delight in which the souls of the blessed enjoy ever- lasting happiness. In this sense it is frequently used in the New Testament : our Saviour tells the penitent thief on the cross, " This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise;" and St. Paul, speaking of himself in the third person, says, '• I knew a man who was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." PAR'ADOX, in philosophj', a tenet or proposition seemingly absurd, or con- trary to received opinion, yet true in fact. PAR'AGOGE, a figure in grammar by which the addition of a letter or syllable is made to the end of a word. PAR' AGON, a model by way of dis- tinction implying superior excellence or perfection : as, a paragon of beauty or eloquence. PAR'AGRAM, a play upon words. Hence paragrammatist, an appellation for a punster. PAR'AGRAPH, any section or portion of a writing which relates to a particular point, whether consisting of one sentence or many sentences. Paragraphs are gen- erally distinguished by a break in the lines ; or, when a great quantity of print is intended to be compressed into a small space, they may be separated by a dash, thus . A paragraph is also some- times marked thus, ^. PARALEP'SIS, or PAR'ALEPSY, a figure in rhetoric by which the speaker pretends to pass by what at the same time he really mentions. PARALIPOM'ENA, in matters of lit- erature, denotes a supplement of things omitted in a preceding work. PAR'ALLEL, is often used metaphori- cally, to denote the continued comparison of two objects, particularly in history. Thus we speak of drawing an historical parallel between ages, countries, or men. — Parallel passages, are such passagea in a book as agree in import ; as, for instance, the parallel passages in the bible. PARAL'OGISM, in logic, a fallacious argument or false reasoning ; an error committed in demonstration, when a con- sequence is drawn from principles which are false, or though true, are not proved; or when a proposition is passed over that shoulil have been proved by the way. PARAMOUNT, in Eng. the supreme lord of the fee. The lords of those ma- nors that have other manors under them 452 CVC'LOPEniA OF LIIERATLIIE PAR aro styled lords-paramount ; and the king, who, in law, is chief lord of all the lands in England, is thus the lord-para- mount. — In common parlance, it means tuperior to anything else; as, a man's ■,,rivate interest is usually parawou/ti to all other considerations. .PAR'AX YMl'II, among the ancients, the person who waited (m the bridegroom and directed tlic nuptial solemnities. As the paranympli olliciated only on the part of the bridegroom, a woman called ■nronuba officiated on the part of the Dride. — In poetry, the term paranyniph is still occasionally used for the bride- man. PAR'APEG-M, in ancient customs, sig- nified a brazen table fixed to a pillar, on which laws and proclamations were en- graved. Also, a table set in a public place, containing an account of the rising and setting of the stars, eclipses, seasons, &c. PAR'APET, in fortification, a wall, rampart, or elevation of earth for screen- ing soldiers from an enemy's shot. It means literally, a wall breast high. PA'RAPII, in diplomatics, the figure formed by a flourish of the pen at the conclusion of a signature. This formed, in the middle ages, a sort of rude provi- sion against forgery, like the flourishes in the plates of bank notes. In some countries (as in Spain,) the paraph is still a usual addition to a signature. PARAPIIERNA LIA, in English law, the goods which a wife brings with her at her marriage, or which she possesses beyond her dower or jointure, and which remain at her disposal after her husband's death. They consist principally of the woman's apparel, jewels, kn , which, in the lifetime of her husband, she wore as the ornaments of her person ; nor can the husband devise such ornaments and jewels of his wife, though, during his life, he has power to dispose of them. PAR'APIIRASE, an explanation of •some text or passage in a book, in a more clear and ample manner than is express- ed in the words of the author; such as the jxirttphrasc of the Xcw Testament by Erasmus. A paraiihraso partakes of the nature both of a version, it the work p.ar- aphrasod be in a foreign language, and of a commentary. Its object is to ex- press the full sense contained in the words which are paraphrased, by the in- troduclioti of circumlocutions, explana- tory clauses, and expansions of the au- thor's meaning. PAR'AriANd, a Persian measure of length, varying in different ages, and in diff'erent places, from thirty to fifty stadia or furlongs. PARASCE'NIUM. in the Grecian and Roman theatres, was a j)lace behind the scenes whither the actors withdrew to dress and umlress themselves. The Ro- mans more frequently called it pustsce- niurn. PARASCE'VE, a word signifying prep- aration, given by the Jews to the sixth day of the week, or Friday ; because, not being allowed to prepare their food on the sabbath day, they provided and pre- pared it on the day previous. PAllASI'TI, among the Greeks, were an order of priests, or at least ministers of the gods, resembling the Epulones at Rome. Their business was to collect and take care of the sacred corn destined for the service of the temples and the gods ; to see that sacrifices were duly perform- ed, and that no one withheld the first fruits, &c. from the deities. In every vil- lage of the Athenians, certain Parasiti, in honor of Hercules, were maintained at the public charge ; but, to ease the commonwealth of this burthen, the ma- gistrates at last obliged souie of the richer sort to take them to their own tal)les, and entertain them at their individual ex- pense : hence the word j)arasilc. by which we denote a hanger-on, a fawning flat- terer, one who, for the sake of a good dinner at the expense of another person, would be ready to surfeit him with adula- tion. PARAVAIL', in feudal law, tlie lowest tenant holding under a mediate lord, as distinguished from a tenant in capite, who holds immediately of the king. PAirCE, or the FATH.^, in the hea- then mythology, Vwivo three goildesses who were supposed to preside over the ac- cidents and events, and to determine the date or period of human life. They were called Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis, and are represented as spinning the thread of human life ; in which en)]iloyment Clotho held the distatF, Lachesis twrneil the wheel, and Atropos cut the thread. Their persons are variously desoribed ; some- times they are represented as old women, one holding a distaff, another a wheel, and a third a pair of scissors. Others pa'nt Clotho in a robe of various colors, with a crown of stars upon her head, and holding a distaff in her liand ; Lachesis in a garment covered with stars, and holil- I ing several spindles; and Atropos they I clad in black, cutting tlic thrcail with a [ largo pair of scissors. par] AND rilK FINE AltTS. 453 PAR'CENER, or CO-PAR'CENER, in law, a coheir, or one who holds lands by descent from an ancestor in common with others. The holding or occupation of lands of inheritance by two or more per- sons, differs from joint tenancy, which is created by deed or devise, whereas fjar- cenarij is created by the descent of lands from a common ancestor. PAREL'CON, in grammar, the addi- tion of a word or syllable at the end of another. PAREM'BOLE, a figure in rhetoric, often confounded with the parenthesis. The parembole is, in reality, a species of parenthesis ; but its specific character is this, that it relates to the subject ; while the parenthesis is foreign from it. PA'RENT, a term of relationship ap- plicable to those from whom we im- mediately receive our being. Parents, by the law of the land as well as by the law of nature, are bound to educate, maintain, and defend their children, over whom they have a legal as well as a nat- ural power : they likewise have interest in the profits of their children's labor, during their nonage, in case the children live with and are provided for by them ; yet the parent has no interest in the real or personal estate of a child, any other- wise than as his guardian. The laws re- lating to the mutual rights and duties of parents and children are a very important part of every code, and have a very inti- mate connection with the state of society and with civil institutions. In ancient times, when paternity was a great foun- dation of civil authority, the parental rights were much more absolute than in the modern, extending, in some countries, to the right of life and death, and con- tinuing during the life of the two parties. PARENTA'LIA, in antiquity, funeral obsequies, or the last duties paid by chil- dren to their deceased parents. The terra is also used for a sacrifice, or solemn ser- vice, offered annually to the manes of the dead. PAREN'TIIESrS, in rhetoric, a figure bj' which a series of words is inserted in a sentence, having no grammatical con- nection with those which precede or fol- low, with the object of e.xplaining some detached portion of the sentence. In an- cient author.^, a parenthetical form of writing is even more connnon than among moderns; because much which a Greek or Roman author would have conveyed by way of parenthesis is now inserted in sep- arate explanatory notes. PA'RIAS, a degraded tribe of Hindoos who live by themselves in the outskirts of towns ; and, in the country, build their houses apart from the villages, or rather have villages of their own. They dare not in cities pass through the streets where the Brahmins live ; nor enter a temple of the superior castes. They are prohibited from all approach to anything pure, and are doomed to perform all kinds of menial work. PAR IM'PAR, in antiquity, a game of chance practised among the Greeks and Romans. It was identical with the game of " even or odd" practised by the boys of modern times. PAR'ISH, the precinct or territorial jurisdiction of a secular priest, or a cir- cuit of ground or district inhabited by people who belong to one church, and are under the particular charge of its minis- ter. In the earliest ages of the church, the name parish was applied to the dis- trict placed under the superintendence of tlie bishop, and v^'as equivalent to the diocese. Parishes were originally eccle- siastical divisions, but they now come under the class of civil divisions. In England, their limits cannot be altered but by legislative enactment ; and in Scotland it requires the authority of the Court of Session, together with the con- sent of three fourths of the heritors, to erect new churches and to disjoin parish es. Towns originally contained but one parish, but from the increase of inhab- itants, many of them are divided into several parishes. The number of parish- es and parochial chapelries in England and Wales is estimated at about 10,700. In Scotland, the number of parishes rec- ognized by law is 948. — In some of the United States, parish is an ecclesiastical society not bounded by territorial limits ; but the inhabitants of a town belonging to one church, though residing promiscu ously among the people belonging to another church, are called a parish. This is particularly the case in Massachusetts. In Connecticut, the legal appellation oi' such a societ}' is ecclesiastical society. PARK, in England, a large piece of ground enclosed and privileged for beasts of the chase. Also, a piece of ground in cities, planted with trees and devoted to public recreation. — Parle of artillery, a place in the rear of both lines of an army for encamping the artillery, which is formed in lines, the guns in front, the ammunition wagons behind the guns, and the pontoons and tumbrils forming the third line. The whole is surrounded with a rope. 454 CYCLOPEDIA OF I.TTRRVTrilE (pAIi PARLIAMENT, the gran.l npscnibly of the three estates in Great Britain, or tl>e great council of the nation, consisting of the King, Lords, and Commons, wliich form the legislative branch of the govern- ment. The word parlid 'Hcnt was intro- duced into England under the Norman kings. The supreme council of the na- tioi was called by our Saxon ancestors, the wilteriagemote, the meeting cf wise men or sages. A parliament is called by the king's [queen's] writ, or letter, direct- ed to each lord, summoning him to ap- pear ; and by writs sent by the lord chancellor under the great seal, com- manding the sheriffs of each cotinty to take the necessary steps for the election of members for the county, and the bor- oughs contained in it. On the day ap- pointed for the meeting of parliament, the king [queen] sits in the house of lords under a canopy, dressed in his [her] robes, as are all the lords in theirs; and, the commons being summoned to the bar of that house, the sovereign addresses both houses on the state of public affairs. The commons are then required to choose a speaker, which officer being presented to and approved by the sovereign, the latter withdraws, the commons retire to their own house, and the business of par- liament begins. In the liouse of lonls, the seat of each member is prescribed according to rank ; though, except in the presence of the king [queen] this formali- ty is almost wholly dispensed with. The princes of the blood sit on each side of the throne ; the two archbishops against the wall on the king's right hand; the bishops of London, Durham, and Win- chester below the former, and the other bishops according to priority of Conse- cration. On the king's [queen's] left hand, above all the dukes except those of the blood royal, sit the lord treasurer, lord president, and lord privy-seal; then the dukes, marquises, and carls, the in- dividuals of each class taking precedence according to the date of their creation. Across the room are woolsacks, continued from ancient custom ; and on the first of these, immediately before the throne, sits the lord chancellor, as speaker of the hou-'e. On the other woolsacks arc seated julgcs, masters in chancery, and the king's couTisel, who only give their advice on ])oiiits of law. In the house of commons there are no peculiar seats for any mem- bers. The speaker only has a chair ap- propriated to him at the upper end of the house, and at a table before him sit the clerk and his assistant. When the parliament is thus assembleil, nc member is to depart without leave Tpon extraordinary occasions, all the members are summoned; otherwise three hundred of the commons is reckoned a full house, and forty may compose a house for the dispatch of business. The method of I making laws is much the same in both houses. In each house the act of the I majority binds the whole; and this ma- I jority is declared by votes openly given ; not privatelv, or by ballot. PARLIAMENTA'RIAN, an epithet for those who sided with the English re- publican parliament in opposition to king Charles I. PARN.AS'SUS, in mythology, a cele- brated mountain in ancient Greece, sa- ; ered to Apcitlo and the Muses, and, from ; the numerous objects of classical interest of which it formed the theatre, considered , "holy" by the Greeks. On its side stood the city of Delphi, near which flowed the Castalian spring, the grand source of an- I cient inspiration ; and from this circum- j stance, in metaphorical langunge, the I word Parnassus has come to sisrnifv poe- j try itself A good collection of the Italian poets, printed at Milan, bears the title ] 11 Parnas.to ItaHano. 1 PARO'DY, a kind of writing in which the words of an author or his thoughts are, by some slight alterations, adapted to a different purpose; or it may be de- fined, a poetical pleasantry in which the verses of some author are, by way of rid- icule, applied to another object; or in turning a serious work into burlesque by , affecting to observe the same rhymes, words, and cadences. ! PAR'OL, in law, anything done ver- bally, or by oral declaration; as paroi evidence — Parole, in military affairs, a promise given by a prisoner of war when suffered to be at large, that he will return at the time appointed, unless he shall have previously been discharged or ex- changed. — Parole also means the watch- ' word given out every day in orders by a commanding officer, in camp or garrison, by which friends may be distinguished from enemies. PAROMOL'OGY, in rhetoric, a figure of speech by which the orator concedes something to his adversary, in order to strcnsthen his own argument. P.\RO\OM.'\'Sr.A, a rhetorical fisrure, by which words nearly alike in sound, but of very ( homicide. After being scourged, the delinquents were sewn up in a leathern sack. PARRICID'IUM, a name given by a decree of the Roman senate to the ides of March, which was the anniversary of Caesar's assassination. Dolabella the consul proposed a law to change its name to Natalis Urbis, as he looked on that day as the birthday of Roman liberty. PAR'SEE, the name given by English writers to the Persian refugees, driven from their country by the persecutions of the Mussulmans, who now inhabit various parts of India. Their principal emigration to Baroach, Surat, and the neighboring coast, is supposed to have taken place about the end of the eighth century. The sacred fire, the emblem of their religion, called behrem. is believed by them to have been brought by the first emigrants from Persia, and, after many changes of place, is now preserved at Odisari and Nausari, near Surat, and at Bombay. In this latter city, under the protection of the British government, they have grown into a colony of consid- erable numbers and of great opulence. They have become particularly distin- guished in the art of shipbuilding, and the dock-yard of Bombay is now almost e.vclusively in their hands. Their charac- ter is variously estimated by different :)bservers; but all agree in attributing to them industry and economy, and attach- ment to their religion, and to those of the higher class strong sentiments of honor and honesty. Their number is said to equal 700,000 ; and at Bombay, according to lato calculations, at least 20,000. PARS'INt], in grammar, the resolving a sentence into its elements, by showing the several parts of speecli of which it is composed, and their relation to each other according to grammatical rules. PAR'SOX, the rector or incumbent of a parish, who has the parochial charge or cure of souls. — Parsonage, a rectory endowed with a house, glebe, l.uids, tithes, &c., for the maintenance of the incum- bent. PAR'TIIEXOX, in ancient architec- ture, the name given to the celebrated Grecian temple of Minerva, erected dur- ing the splendid era of Pericles. It was built of marble upon a spot elevated on all sides above the town and citadel ; of the Doric order ; 222 Greek feet in length, and 69 in height. This magnificent tem- ple had resisted all the ravages of time ; had been in turn converted into a Chris- tian church and a Turkish mosque ; but in the year 1687, when the Venetians besieged the citadel of Athens, under the command of general Koenigsmarck, a bomb fell most unluckily on the devoted Parthenon, set fire to the powder whicli the Turks had shut up therein, and thus the roof was entirely destroyed, and the whole building almost reduced to ruins. PARTICEPS CRIM'INIS, in law, an accomplice, or one who has a share in the guiU. PARTI'CIPANTS, a semi-religious order of knighthood, founded by Popo Sextus v., in 1586, in honor of Our Lady of Loretto. The members of this order were allowed to marry. The order w.as soon extinguished; and the title of Knights of Loretto is now conferred on some civil servants of the pope. . , PARTITION, in music, the arrange- ment of the several parts of a composition on the same page or pages, ranged methodically above and under each other, so that they may be all under the eye of the performer or conductor, and sung or played jointly or separately as the com- poser intended. It is commonly called a score. — In architecture, the vertical as- semblage of materials which divides one apartment from another. It is usually, however, employed to denote such divi- sion when constructed of vertical pieces of timber called quarters. — In politics, the division of the states of a sovereign or prince, after his decease, among his heirs, as was the custom in some of the prince- ly families in the ancient German em- pire : or among other powers, such as that of the states of the king of Spain, which was in contemplation (against all 45G CVCLOI'EUIA OF LITERATURE [pas justice) Vjctween Willinm III., Louis XIV., anil tlin Dutch, Iiv the treaties (if 1693 and 169e alhrmed of Luca Giordano, a Neapolitan artist. PASTOPII'ORI, in antiquity, priests among the Greeks and Romans whose of- fice it was to carry the images along with the shrines of the gods at solemn festivals. The cells or apartments near the temples where the Pastopkori lived, were called Pastophoria. PAS'TORAL, something descriptive of a shepherd's life ; or a poem in which any action or passion is represented by its ef- fects on a country life. The complete character of this poem consists in sim- plicity, brevity, and delicacy; the two first of which render an eclogue or idyl natural, and the last delightful. As the first strains of poetry must have been heard in the primitive times of the Im- man race, and as a shepherd's life is con- genial with this mode of occupation, we naturally consider poetry as having origi- nated in the pastoral period ; but the poetic idea of pastoral life, where all is purity and simplicity, is not supported by experience in past or present times. PASTtiRA'LE, in ecclesiastical affairs, tii:it part of theology which includes the execution of the duties of the clergyman, or the practical application of his theolo- gical knowledge. In the pastorale of a Rouiiin Ciitholic priest, the chief part of the canon law is compriseil ; while that of the Protestant minister consists of princi- ples addressed merely to his understand- ing, including certain rules which experi- ence has shown to be important for the execution of clerical duties. PATAVIN'ITY, a term used by clas- sical scholars to denote a peculiarity of Livy's diction ; so denominated from Pa- tavium or Padua, the place of his nativ- ity ; but as authors are not agreed as to what this palavinity consists in, it may reasonably be concluded that it is one of those delicacies which are undiscernible when a language is no longer spoken. PATE, in fortification, a kind of plat form, resembling what is called a horse- shoe ; not always regular, but generally oval, encompassed only with a parapet, and having nothing to flank it. PAT'ENTS, orLET TERS PAT ENT, {open letters,) writings sealed with the great seal, granting a privilege to some person, or authorizing a man to do or en- joy that which he could not of himself. They are called patent on account of their form being open, ready to be exhibited for the confirmation of the authority del- egated by them. In England and the United States, patents are granted for a term not exceeding fourteen years. The time in England may be prolonged by a private act, and in the United States by act of '-ongress. In Fr:ince, patents are given for five, ten, or fifteen years, at the option of the inventor ; but this last term is never to be prolonged without a par- ticular decree of the legislature. — The caveat is an instrument by which notice is requested to be given to the person who enters it, whenever any ap]>Iication is made for a patent for a certain invention, which is therein describcil in general terms, and -must be renewed annually. It simply gives notice that the invention is nearly completed, with a request that, if any other person should apply for a pat- j ent for the same thing, the preference I may be siven to him who entered it. PA'TERA, in architecture, an orna- ment frequently seen in the Doric frie/.e, and in the tympans of arches. The pa- , tera was a small dish or vase used by the [ Romans in their sacrifices, in which they [ offered their consecrated food to the gods, I and with which they made libations; and I hence, as the Doric was used for temples, it became an ornament of that order. It was also enclosed in urns with the ashes of the dead, after it had been used in the libations of wine and other liquors at the funeral. I'AT'ERXOSTER, the Lord's prayer, so called from the two first words thereof in Latin. It is also sometimes used for a rosary or string of beads, used by Ro- man Catholics in their devotions; but more especially for every tenth large PAr] AND TIIK FINE ARTS. 4.J9 bead in fho sa'ul rosary; for at this they repeat the Lord's prayer ; and at the in- terveninf; small ones, only an Ave Ma- ria. — In architecture, the same term is used for an ornament cut in the form of heads, either oval or round, for astragals, .fee. PA'THOS, language capable of moving the temler passions, and of exciting the finest emotions of the soul. PA'TIENCE, the quality of enduring affliction, pain, persecution, or other evil, without murmuring or frctfulness. PAT'IN, in the Romish church, the cover of the chalice, used for holding par- ticles of the host. PATOIS, a word in general use in most European countries, signifying the dialect peculiar to the lower classes. PA'TKE.S CONSCllIP'TI,aname given to the Roman senators in general, though at first it was applied to a particular part of that body. The hundred appointed by Romulus were called simply Pn/res; a second hundred added by Romulus and Tatius upon the union of their people, were denominated Padres l\Iinorurii Gen- tium ; a third hundred being afterwards added by Tarquinius Priscus, the two latter classes were called Palrcs Con- scripti, because they were written down or put upon the list with the original hundred of Romulus. PA'TRIARCII, properly signifies the head or chief of a family. The name of patriarchs is generally confined to the progenitors of the Israelites who lived before Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, itc ; or to the heads of families before the flood, as the antediluvian patriarchs. The appellation has from hence been trans- ferred to the bishops of the first churches of the East ; ns, the patriarchs of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem. Constantinople. PATRI'CIAN, in Roman history, a title given at first to the descendants of the senators whom llomnlus created, and called patres, " fathers." It was after- wards enjoyed by those who became sen- ators by other channels than that of he- reditary claim: but the dignity of the patricians was lessened by the fall of the republic, the civil wars, and the estab- lishment of the imperial dignity. — The word patrician, in its general and mod- ern acceptation, signifies noble ; senato- rial ; not plebeian. PAT'RICK, St, Order of. an Irish order of kniglithood, instituted by George III. in 1783, which is the only one be- longing to Ireland, but it is the most splendid of any. PA'TRIOT, one who sincerely loves his country, and who, as a proof of that love, exerts his best energies in contrib- uting to his country's welfare. In the Latin of the middle ages, patriota signi- fied a native, in contradistinction to pere- grlnus, a foreigner, that is, one who did not enjoy the rights of citizenship. As the native, or citizen, was considered to be attached by his interests to the common- wealth, the word gradually received the meaning of a citizen who loves his coun- try. Like many other words, its true meaning has at times been sadly pervert- ed, or irreverently used. PAT'RIOTISM, the love of one's coun- try — the noblest passion that animates the breast of a true citizen, either in de- fending it from foreign enemies, or in protecting its rights and maintaining its laws and institutions in vigor and purity when assailed by domestic foes. PATROL', in war, a round or march made by the guard in the night-time, tu observe what passes, and to secure the peace and safety of a city or camp, or oth- er place. The patrol generally consists of a body of five or six men detached from a body on guard, and commanded by a Serjeant. PA'TRON, in its most general sense, signifies one that specially countenances and supports another, or lends his aid to advance the interests of some underta- king ; as a patron of the Fine Arts ; the patrKjns of a charitable institution, ends upon the majority, which, however, must aujount to twelve. PEER ESS, a woman who is noble by descent, creation or marriage. If a peer- ess b}' descent or creation marries a per- son under the degree of nobility, she still continues noble ; but if she has obtained the dignity by marriage only, by a sub- sequent marriage with a commoner she loses it; though by the courtesy of Eng- land, she always retains her title. PEG'ASUS, in Greek mythology, a winged horse, produced by Neptune ; or according to some authors, which sprung from the blood of Medusa when Perseus cut off her head. PEINE FORTE ET DURE, a special punishment inflicted in ancient times on those who, being arraigned of felony, re- fused to put themselves on the ordinary trial, but stood hiute. It was vulgarly called pressing to death. PELA'GIANS, a Christian sect who appeared about the beginning of the fifth century. Pelagius, the founder of it, wa,s born in Wales, and his real name wa.s Morgan, which in the Welsh language signifies sea born ; whence the Latin name Pelagius. Some of our ancient historians pretend that he was abbot of Bangor ; but this is impossible, because the British monasteries were of a later date. St Austin gives him the character of a very pious man, and a person of superior birth. Among other tenets of belief, the Pelagi- ans denied original sin, maintaining that Adam would have died, whether he had sinned or not ; while they asserteil the doctrine of free will, and the merit of good works. PE'NAL LAWS, laws made for the punishment of criminal offences. PEN'ALTY, (in law,) a fine or forfei- ture by way of punishment, which is a ■pecuniary penalty ; but the word penalty is not confined to this ; for imprisonment, whipping, transportation, ifco. are equally penalties, though in the shape of personal punishments. PENANCE, in ecclesiastical law, the infliction of some pain or bodily sufiering, as fasting, flagellation, &c ; as an exer- cise of re])entance for some sin, either vol- untary or imposed. — Penance is one of the seven sacraments of the Romish church. PENA'TES, in Roman antiquity, tute- lar deities, either of countries or of par- ticular houses, in which last sense they were tho same with the lares. The Pena- tes were originally the tutelar gods of the Trojans ; but being adopted by the Romans, they were thus named. PEND'ANT, in gothic architecture, an ornamented polygonal piece of stone or timber hanging down from the vault or 462 CYCI.OI'KUIA OF LllKllATLKK l-EO roof of a building. Of stone pendants gome exquisite examples may be seen in llenrj VII.'s chapel at Westminster. In ancient writers the sprini;ers of arches, which rest on shafts or corbels, are callcil poulunls. — In painting, Ac. a picture or print which from uniformity of size and subject seems to hang up as a companion to another. The term may also be ap- plied to bassi relievi of similar sizes. PEXETRA'LE, was a sacred room or chapel in private houses, set apart for the worship of the household gods among the Komans. In temples also there were penetralia, or apartments of peculiar sanctitj', where the images of the gods were kept, and certain solemn ceremonie.s peformed. PENITEN'TIARY, in the ancient Christian church, a name given to certain presbyters, appointed in every church to receive the private confessions of the peo- ple, in order to facilitate public discipline, by acquainting them what sins were to be expiated by public penance, and to appoint private penance for such crimes as it might be deemed unadvisable to censure publicly. — Penitentiary, at the court of Rome, an ofiBce in which are ex- amined and delivered out the secret bulls, graces, or dispensations relating to cases of conscience, confessions, &c.- — The title oi penitentiary was also given to an officer in some cathedrals, who was vested with power from the bishop to absolve in cases reserved to him. — Penitentiary, the name of prisons where felons are kept to hard labor. PEN'ITENTS, an appellation given to certain fraternities in Catholic coun- tries, distinguished by their different habits, and generally employed in chari- table acts. PEN'NON, in heraldry, a small point- ed flag, borne by a gentleman. When knighthood was conferred upon him, the point was cut off, and the square flag that remained bore the name ot banner. PEN'S [OX, an annual allowance of a sum of money to a person by government, in consideration of past services, civil or military ; or, at least, such a pension ought to be. PENSIONER, one who receives an annuitj' from another, whether in con- sideration of service jKist or jjresent, or merely as a benevolence PENTAMETER, in Latin and Greek poetry, a verse consisting of five feet or metres. The two first may be either dac- tyls or spondees; the third is always a spondee, and the two last anapscsts. A ' pentameter verse subjoined to an hex- ameter constitutes what is called elegiac. The pentameter ha<< not been generally introihiced into any monigration into another bod}' and being born anew with it. From this resurrec- tion they excluded all who were notorious- ly wicked, being of opinion that the souls of such persons were doomud to a state of everlasting woe. PHA'KOS, a light-house or lofty build- ing near the sea, where a fire is kept burning during the night to serve as a beacon to vessels. The Pharos of Alex- andria, built in the reign of Pharos, was one of the most celebrated works of anti- quity, and from this circumstance the name is supposed to have been given to edifices of a similar description. Tho tower of king Pharos stood at the mouth of the Nile ; it consisted of several stories or galleries, surmounted with a lantern, and was seen for many leagues at sea, as well as all along the coast. PIIELLOPLA.S'TICS, the art of repre- senting works of architecture on a re- duced scale in cork, which afl'ords very fine models, and are cheaper than those in wood, stone, gypsum, &c. PlIIDI'TIA. in antiquity, Lacedemo- nian festivals, remarkable for the fru- gality of the entertainment, and the char- itable intention of tho meeting. They were held in public places, and in tho open air. Those who attended made con- tributions of flour, wine, cheese, and figs. Rich anil poor assisted alike at this feast, and were upon the same footing ; the de- sign of the institution being, like that of the Roman Charistia, to reconcile differ- ences, and to cultivate peace, friendship, and a good understanding among all the citizens, of every rank and degree. PHIGA'LIAk xMARBLES, (so called from having been discovered near the site of Phigalia, a town of Arcadia,) tho name given to a series of sculptures in alto relievo, now deposited in the British Museum, where they form part of the collection known by the name of the El- gin. Marbles. They originally formed the fringe round the interior of the cella of tho temple dedicated to Apollo the De- liverer ; a title conferred on him by the Phigalians in gratitude for his having delivered them from a pestilence. They represent the combat of the Centaurs and the Lapithi«, and that of the Greeks and Amazons. The similarity, both in design and execution, which they bear to the decorations on the Parthenon leaves no doubt that they arc the workmanship of the sanie master minds which designed, constructed, and adorned that splendid monnmont of the golden age of art. PHILANTIIUOPINISM, a name given in Germany to the system of education 468 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITEUATL'RE [rin on natural principle?, as it is termed, which was promoted by Basedow and his friends in the last century, and mainly founded on the notions of Locke and Rous- seau. An in.^titution for the purposes »f education founded under the protection of the Duke of Dossau, in 1774, was the first so called " Philanthropin '' It was dissolved in 1793; and of the similar in- stitutions afterwards founded, only one, it is said, has continued to maintain it- self. But the influence of the labors of the Philanthropinists has undoubtedly entered largely into the modern system of education. PHILAN'THROPY, good-will and be- nevolence towards the whole of mankind. It differs from^riendship, inasmuch as it has no limits to its sphere of action, whereas friendship may be confined to an individual; but a true philanthrupist so loves his fellow-men that he is continually exerting himself for their welfare. PHILIP PIC, a word used to denote any discourse or declamation full of acri- monious invective. It is derived from an oration made by Demosthenes against Philip of Macedon, in which the orator inveighs against the indolence of the Athenians. The fourteen orations of Cicero against Mark Antony are also called philippics. PIIILOL'OGY, in its usual acceptation, is that branch of literature which compre- hends a knowledge of the etymology or origin and combination of words, and whatever relates to the history, affinity, and present state of languages. In a wider sense it signifies an assemblage of sciences, consisting of grammar, rhetoric, poetry, antiquities, history, criticism, Ac, usually understood by the French term belles lettres. Of late j-ears, however, a new and very extensive province has been added to the dominion of philology ; namely, the science of language in a more general sense, considered philosophically with respect to the light it throws on the nature of human intellect and progress of human knowledge; and historically, with reference to the connection between different tongues, and the connection thus indicated between different nations and races. Some attempts have recently made to confine the use of the word phi- lology to this particular branch of learn- ing. It comi)rehenils, 1. /'Iioiioloi^i/, or the knowledge of the sounds of the iiu- inan voice ; whi''h appears to include or- thography, or the system to be adopted when we endeavor to render, by our own alphabet, the sound.s of a foreign lan- guage; 2. Etymology ; 3. Ideology, or the science of the mollification of language by grammatical forms, according to the various points of view from which men contemplate the ideas which words are meant to express. PHILOSOPHER'S STONE, a stone or preparation which the alchymists formerly sought, as the instrument of converting the baser metals into pure gold. The alchymists held that the baser metals were all convertible into silver and gold by a long series of processes, and the instrument by which it was sup- posed that this mighty change was to bo effected, was a certain mineral to be pro- duced by these processes, which being mixed with the base metal would trans- mute it, and this was called the philoso- pher's stone. PHILOSOPHY, literally, the love of wisdom. But in modern accepfatioii, philosophy is a general term denoting an explanation of the reasons of things ; or an investigation of the causes of all phe- nomena both of mind and of matter. When applied to any particular depart- ment of knowledge, it denotes the collec- tion of general laws or principles under which all the subordinate phenomena or facts relating to that subject, are compre- hended. Thus, that branch of philoso/>hy which treats of God, itc, is called the- ology ; that which treats of nature is called physics, or natural philosophy ; that which treats of man is called logic and ethics, or moral philosophy ; that which treats of the mind is called intel- lectual or mental pliilo.tojihy, or meta- physics. The term philusopliy is often used, apparently with no great precision, though it is not iliflicult to deduce from the use of this term the general meaning or notion which is attached to it. We speak of the philosophy of the human mind as being of all philosophies that to which the name philosophy is [)arficularly appropriated ; and when the terra philos- ophy is used absolutely, this seems to be the philosophy that is spoken of. Other philosophies are referred to their several objects by qualifying terms : thus wo speak of natural philoso])hy, meaning thereby the philosophy of nature, or of material objects. Wo also speak of the philosophy of positive law, understanding thereby the pliilosophy of those binding rules, properly called laws. The terras philosophy of history, philosophy of man- ufactures, and other such terms are also used. All objects then which can occupy the mind may have something in common, PHI AND THE FINK AIM'S. 4G0 called their philosophy; which philos- ophy is nothing else than the general expression for that effort of the mind whereby it strives, pursuant to its laws, to reduce its knowledge to tlie form of ul- timate truths or principles, and to deter- mine the immutable relations which exist between things as it conceives them. The philosophy which comprises within itself all philosophies is that which labors to determine the laws or ultimate prin- ciples in obedience to which the mind itself operates. Thus, every kind of knowledge, the objects of which are things external, has its philosophy or principles, which, when discovered and systematized, form the science of the things to which they severally belong. But we must as- sume that the mind also has its laws and powers which may be discovered by ob- servation, as we discover by observation the laws or principles which govern the relations of things external to the mind, or conceived as external. Accordingly the human mind, by the necessity im- printed on it, seeks to discover the ulti- mate foundation of all that it knows or conceives ; to discover what itself is, and what is its relation to all things, and so it strives to form a system out of all such altimate laws or principles. Such a sys- tem may be called a philosophy in the proper and absolute sense of the term, and the attempt to form such a system is to philosophize. . Systems of philosophy have existed in all nations. The objects of philosophy ppcr is plated in the usual way with silver b}' passing the metals together through a rolling mill, and is then cut into pieces of a proper size. The silver surface is carefully polished, and cleansed by wiping it over with a piece of cotton dipped in dilute nitric acid, washing, and drying. When thus duly prepared — and much depends upon the manner in which these preliminary operations are performed and the materials used — the plate is subjected to the diffused vapor of iodine, which forms a slightly brown or yellow film upon the silver ; it is then ready to be subjected to the action of the image to be represented, which is thrown upon it, care being taken to exclude all other light, by an instrument upon the principle of the camera obscura. In the course of a few seconds or minutes, the requisite time depending upon the intensity of the light, the plate is removed; and though nothing is as yet visible upon it it has re- ceived the image, which is brought out and rendered evident by subjecting it, inclined at an angle of about 45"^, to the vapor of mercury. This operation is j>er- formed in a bo.x with a glass side, at the bottom of which is a basin ol mercury, heated to about 170°, so that the operator may see the progress of the appearance of the image, and remove the plate when it is perfect; but light must be as far as possible excluded, and more especiiiUy daylight. The plate is then washed by cautious immersion in a solution of hy- po-sulphite of soda, and lastly with boil- ing distilled water, and allowed to dry: it is now perfect, may be exposed to light without injury ; but must be carefully protected from all friction by covering it with a glass. The action of the various shades of light upon the film of iodine, and the subsequent influence of the mer- curial vapor upon which the visibility of the picture depends, have not been satis- 472 CVCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE [PHT factorily explained, and require further esjjerimental elucidatinn. Tlic perfection of the drawing, and the extraordinary manner in which the minutest details are represented, we have noticed in our for- mer article ; they must, however, be seen to be accurately judged of .and duly appreciated. PHRASE, a short sentence or expres- sion ; said to be complete when it conveys complete sense, as "to err is human;" and incomplete when it eonsists of several words.without affirming anything. Any peculiar sentence or short idiomatic ex- pression is also denominated a phrase. — In music, any regular symmetrical course of notes which begin and complete the intended expression. PHREXOL'OGY, a modern science, which professes to teach, from the con- formation of the human skull, the par- ticular characters and propensities of men, presuming that the powers of the mind and the sensations are performed by peculiar parts of the brain : the front parts being intellectual, the middle senti- mental, and the hinder parts governing the animal propensities : the degree being in proportion to the projection or bulk of the parts. It was long ago observed by physiologists, that the characters of animals were determined by the forma- tion of tlie forehead, and that the intelli- gence of the animal, in most cases, rose or fell in proportion to the elevation or depression of the skull. But it was re- served to Drs. Gall and Spurzheim to ex- pand this germ of doctrine into a minute system, and to map out the whole cranium into small sections, each section being the dwelling-place, or workshop, of a certain faculty, propensity, or sentiment, in all amounting to thirty-six, and to which certain names have been given in order to mark their specific qualities, their uses and abuses. PHYLACTERY, among the ancients, a general name given to all kinds of spells, ciiarms, or amulets, which they wore about them, to preserve them from disease or danger. It is more particu- lai'ly used to signify a slip of paper on which was written some text of Scripture, especially of the Decalogue, which the more devout Jews wore on the forehead, breast, or neck, as a badge of their re- ligion. — Among the primitive Christians, a 'phylactery was a case in which they inclosed the relics of their dead. PHY'L/E, the tribes into whioh the whole of Attica was divided in antiquity. Originally there wore but four phyla;, which were frequently remodelled, but remained the same in number till soon after the expulsion of the I'isistradida;, when Cleisthenes caused their number to be incueased to ten. What the precise nature of the change effected on this occasion was is not known, but it is prob- able that the new tribes embraced a large number of citizens that had been exclu- ded from the former. The phybe were afterwards increased to twelve, by the addition of two in honor of Antigonous and his son Demetrius. The Athenian senate was composed of fifty delegates from eneh of these tribes. P1IY'L.A.RC1I, an Athenian officer ap- pointed for each phyle or tribe, to super- intend the registering of its members and other common duties. The title ans- wers to that of the Roman tribune, but its functions never reached the same im- portance. PHYS'ICAL, an epithet denoting that which relates to nature or natural pro- ductions, as opposed to things moral or imaginary. We speak of physical force or power, with reference to material things : thus armies and navies are the physical force of anation : whereas knowl- edge, skill, &c , constitute moral force. — A physical body or substance, is a mate- rial body or substance, in distinction from spirit or metaphysical substance. — Physi- cal education, the education which is directed to the object of giving strength, health, and vigor to the bodily organs and powers. PHYSIOGNOMICS, among physi- cians, signs in the countenance which serve to indicate the state, disposition, &c., both of the body and mind : and hence the art of reducing those signs to practice is termed physiognomv. PlIYSlOG'NOMY.Vhe art of discov- ering the predominant temper or other characteristic qualities of the mind by the features of the face or external signs of the countenance. AVhatever bo thought of the possibility of laying down strict rules for such judgments, it is a fact of e very-day occurrence, that we are, almost without reflection on our part, impressed favorably or unfavorably in regard to the temper and talents of others by the expression of their countenances. No study, says Lavater, mathematics ex- cepted, more justly deserves to be termed a science than ])hysiognomy. It is a de- partment of ])hysics, including theology and belles-lettres ; and in the same man- ner with these sciences may be reduced to rule. It may acquire a fixed and ap- AND THE KINK ARTS. 4/3 propriate character ; it may be commu- nicated and taught. Physiognniiiy, he adds, is a source of jmre an. I exalted men- tal gratification. It affords a new view of the perfection of Deity; it displays a new scene of hiirmony and beauty in his works ; it reveals internal motives, which, without It, would only have been discov- ered in the world to come. AVe all have some sort of intuitive method by which we form our opinions ; and though our rules for judging of men from their appear- ance may often fail, we still continue to trust in them. PHYSIOG'NOTYPE, a machine for taking an exact imprint or cast of the countenance, lately invented by a Pari- sian. This instrument is a metallic, oval plate, pierced with a large quantity of minute holes very closely together, and through each of which a wire passes with extreme facility. These needles have the appearance of a brush. The whole is surrounded with a double case of tin, which contains warm water, in order to keep the instrument of a proper tempe- rature with the blood. If any figure be applied against this brush of needles, it will yield to the slightest pressure, and leave an exact mould, taking up only about two seconds. PIANO-FORTE, a musical stringed instrument, the strings of which are ex- tended over bridges rising on the sound- ing-board, and are made to vibrate by means of small covered hammers, which are put in motion by keys. It has been gradually improved, till it has become one of the most important instruments in all domestic musical entertainments. PI.\S'TRE, a variable denomination of money. In the West, its use is nearly confined to Italy, and Spain with its colo- nies ; in which it generally means a dollar, or the largest silver coin of those regions ; but the term is there obsolescent. The old rose piastre of Tuscany contains 10 pauls, or about 31 O.o ; the olil two-i^lubed piastre of Spain, whether Mexican or Se- villan, is worth about $1.03. Both pass in the United States for a dollar. In the East, on the other hand, piastre means a coin of scarcely l-'20lli the value of the foregoinic; namely, worth about five cents. PIAZZA, an Italian name fi>r a por- tico or covered walk. The word literally signifies a broad open jil.ice or square ; \fhencc it came to be aiijilied to the walks or porticos surrounding thorn. PI'BROCH, martial music produceilby the bag-pipe of the Highlanders. It i.s said to signify also the instrument itself; but the former meaning, if, indeed, there are anij instances of the latter to be found in any classical writer, has received the sanction of the two most celebrated poets of their time, Loril Byron and Sir Walter Scotr. The connoisseurs, says the latter writer, in pipe-music, affect to discover, in a well-composed pibroch, the imitative sounds of march, conflict, flight, pursuit, and all the "current of a heady fight." PICARDS', the name of a fanatical and immoral sect of Christians, who sprang up in Bohemia in the fifteenth century. They derived their name from Picard, a native of Flanders, who styled himself the New Adam, and attempted to revive the absurdities of the Adamites of the second century in imitating the state of primeval innocence. They were com- pletely annihilated by Zisca, the great general of the Hussites, who, struck with their abominable practices, had marched against ihem. PICKET, or PIC'QUET, in military discipline, a certain number of men, horse or foot, who do duty as an outguard, to prevent surprises Also, a punishment which consists in making the ofi"ender stand with one foot on a pointed stake. — Pickets, in fortification, sharp stakes, sometimes shod with iron, used in laying out ground, or for pinning the fascines of a battery. In the artillery, pickets five or six feet long are used to pin the park lines ; in the camp, they are used about si.x or eight inches long to fix the tent cords, or five feet long in the cavalry camp to fasten the horses. PICTS' WALL, an ancient wall began by the emperor Adrian, a.d. 123, on the northern boundary of England, from Carlisle to Newcastle, to prevent the in- cursions of the Picts and Scots. It was first made only of turf, strengthened with palisades till the emperor Severus coming in person into Britain, had it built with stone ; and Actius, the Roman general, rebuilt it with brick, ad. 430. Some re- mains of this wall are still visible in parts of Northumberland and Cumberland. PICTFRESQUE', an epithet denoting that peculiar kind of beauty which, either in a prospect, a painting, or a de- scription, strikes the mind with great power, or imparts to it agreeable sensa- tions. In the theory of the Arts, the word picturesque is used as contr.adistin- guished from poetic and plastic. TIv poetical has reference to the fumlamental idea to be represented — to the painter's conception of his subject ; whilst the pic- turesque relates to the mode of express- 474 CVCLOl'EDIA OF LITERATLKE [PU ing the conception, the grouping, the distribution of objects, persons, and lights. The poetical part of a picture, as well as its mechanical execution, may be ivithout fault, and yet the picture be a total failure as regards the picturesque. PIER, a very strong stone wall or mass of solid stone-work running into the water, to resist the force of the sea, to support the arches of a bridge, or the quay of a wharf, and to withstand the dashing of waves. — Also, a part of the wall of a house between windows. PIERIAN, an epithet given to the muses, from Mount I'ierus, in Thessaly, which was sacred to the:n ; or from their victory over the nine daughters of the Macedonian king, Pierus. PI'ETIST, a person belonging to a sect of Protestants which sprung up in Germany, in the latter part of the 17th century. They professed great strictness and purity of life, affecting to despise learning and ecclesiastical polity, as also forms and ceremonies in religion, and giving themselves up to mystic theology. PI'ETY, that holy principle which consists in veneration accompanied with love for the Supreme Being; and which manifests itself, in practice, by obedience to God's will, and a pure devotion to his service. — Piety both towards God and man was one of the virtues hold in most esteem by the ancients, and is therefore commemorated on innumerable medals, sometimes under the figure of a female carrying children, or of jEneas bearing his father, Ac, but more frequently under that of a female standing at an dtar. PIG'MENTS, preparations of various kinds used in painting and dyeing, to im- part the colors required. They are ob- tained from animal, vegetable, and min- eral substances. PIG'MY, by ancient authors on nat- ural history, this name was applieil to a fabulous race of dwarfish and deformed human beings ; it is now restricted to a species of npe, the Cliimpanzce. Ancient fable deseribed a nation of pigmies dwell- ing somewhere near the shores of the ocean, and maintaining perpetual wars with the cranes ; of which Athenreus gives the mythological origin. Ctesias the Greek historian, as quoted by Photius, represented a nation of them as inhabit- ing India, and atteuiling its king on his military cxfxidit ions. Other ancients be- lieved them to inhabit the Indian islands. PILAS'TEIi, adcliased pillar; a. square pillar projeoling from a pier, or from a Atiiyi j ^ 3lH»lliii"'' wall, to the extent of from i to j of its breadth. Pilasters origi- nated in the Grecian antae. In Roman architecture they were sometimes ta- pered like columns, and finished with capitals mo- delleil after theorderwith which they were used. PILE'l'S, in antiquity, a hat or cap worn by the Romans, during anj' in- disposition which prevent- ed them from appearing safely with their heads un- covered, as was the gener- al custom. The I'ileus was also worn by such as had lately received their freedom, because on hav- ing their liberty granted, thej' were constantly shav- ed : the Pileiis, therefore, ~ " being necessary on this ^=^^"^^"""" account, was also esteemed a badge of liberty ; hence pileo cZo'Jori signifies to be ma le free. PILGRIM, one that travels to a dis- tance from his own country to visit a holy place for devotional purposes. In the middle ages, kings, princes, bishops, and others made pilgrimages to visit the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem, in pious devotion to the Saviour. This was permitted while Palestine was held by the Saracens ; but when the Turks obtained possession of that country, the Christian pilgrims were visited with the greatest indignities, and their repeated complaints occasioned the excitement which led to the crusades. In subsequent times pilgrimages to Rome, Compostella, Loretto, Tours, and other jdaccs where the relics of martyrs and saints attracted the notice of devotees, have been common ; and pilgrims to this day travel to Rome, where they are pro- vided for in establislinicnts founded es- pecially for their reception and entertain- ment. But pilgrimages are not confined to Christian nations. According to a com- mand in the Koran, every good Mussul- man is enjoined once in his lifetime to repair to Jlccca; and there are many other places, especially in Persia, endow- ed with sufficient sanctity to attract mul- titudes of pilgrims. The Hindoos have also their i)ilgrimages, the most celebrat- ed of whicli is to the city of Juggernaut, whore stands the temple erected in honor of the deity of the same name ; a full ac- count of which will be found in the Geo Diet; art. "Juggernaut." Among exist- pisj AND THE FINK AKTS. 475 ing Christian pilgrimages, the most cel- ebrated is that uf -Mariaiizell, in Austria. PIL'LAK, a icinil of irregular column, either too missive or toosleiiler for reg- ular arohitofturo ; the parts anil propor- tions of which, not being restricted to any rules, are arbitrary. PIL'LORV , an instrument of punish- ment, consisting of a frame of wood erect- ed oa posts, made to confine the head and liands of a criminal, in order to expose him to view, and to render him publicly infamous. Pl'LUM, a missile weapon used by the Roman soliliers, and in a charge darted upon the enemy. Its point was so long and small, that after the first discharge it was generally so bent as to be rendered useless. PINA'CIA, among the Athenians, were tablets of brass inscribed with the names of all the citizens in each tribe, who were duly qualified and willing to be judges of the court of Areopagus. These tablets were cast into one vessel provided for the purpose, and the same number of beans, a hundred being white and all the rest black, were thrown into another. Then the names of the candi- dates and the beans were drawn out one by one ; and they whose names were drawn out together with the white beans were elected judges or senators. PINACOTIIE'CA, in ancient architec- ture, the apartment in a house for the reception of paintings. PINDAREES', the name given in British India to the hordes of mounted robbers who, for several years, (since 1812,) infested the possessions of the East India Company. These freebooters have existed since 1761, but made themselves particularly formidable in the 19th cen- tury. They were descended mostly from the caste of Mohammedan warriors, which formerly received high pay from the In- dian princes ; and these latter, after be- coming tributary to the British, secretly excited the Pindarees to attack the com- pany. In 1817 the marquis of Hastings, then governor-general, determined on their destruction, and being attacked on all sides, they were conquered and dis- persed. PINDAR'IC, an ode in imitation of the odes of Pindar, the prince of Greek Ivric poets. PI X'- MONEY, gifts by a husband to his wife for the purchase of apparel, or- naments for her person, or for private ex- poniliture. Usually, however, a sum of money for that purpose is secured by the husband to his wife by settlement, or by articles- executed before the marriage, and such a provision cannot be attached for the husband's debts. PIN'NACE, a small vessel navigated with oars and sails, and having generally two masts which are rigged like those of a schooner ; also one of the boats belonging to a man of war, usually with eight oars, and used to carry the officers to and from shore. PIN'NACLE, in architecture, the top or roof of a building, terminating in a point. Among the ancients the pinnacle was appropriated to temples; their ordi- nary roofs being all llat. It was from the pinnacle that the pediment took its rise. PIONEER', in military tactics, a mili- tary laborer, or one whose business is to attend an army in its march, to clear the way, by cutting down trees and levelling roads : as also to work at intrenchments, or form mines for destroying an enemy's works. PI'RACY, the crime of robbery or tak- ing of property from others by open violence on the high seas without author- ity. It includes all acts of robbery and depredation committed at sea, which, if occurring vipon land, would amount to felony. The word pirate signifies literal- ly an adventurer. — Piracy is also fre- quently used to signify any infringement on the law of copyright. It is extremely difficult to lay down any general principle on which to decide as to what is and what is not piracy. Generally it is held, that one writer may borrow the ideas or theories of another : but that he must dress them up and explain them in a dif- ferent way, and in his own language. This, however, is often done so as merely to evade the law : and it were well, in order to make greater attention be paid to originality, were the law as to piracy less lax than it is at present. PIROGUE', a kind of canoe, used in the Southern and Eastern seas, made from a single trunk of a tree hollowed out. Pirogues are generally small, and work- ed by paddles ; they are, however, some- times large, decked, rigged with sails, and furnished with out-riggers. PIROUET'TE, in dancing, a rapid cir- cumvolution upon one foot, which cm the stage is repeated by the dancers many times in succession. — In riding, it is the sudden short turn of a horse, so as to bring his head suildenly in the opposite direction to where it was before. PIS'C.\RY, in our ancient statutes, 476 CVCLOI'EDI.\ OF LITEUATURE [PLA the right or liberty of fishing in another man's waters. PITCH, in music, tlic degree of acute- ness or graveness of a note. It may be the liey-iiote, or the note on which any air or part begins. Any souml less acute than some other sound, is said to be of a lower pitch than that otlier sound, and vice versa. — Concert pitch, in musical performances, the degree of acuteness or gravity' generally adopted for some one given note, and by which every other note is governed. It is not regulated by any fi.ved standard. The opera pitch is high- er than the concert pitch. — Pitch of a roof, in architecture, the inclination of the sloping sides of the roof to the horizon, or the vertical angle formed by the slop- ing sides. It is usually designated by the ratio of its height to its span. PIU', in music, Italian for a little more. It is prefi.xed to words to increase their force, as piu allegra, a little brisk- er ; pin piano, a little softer, &c. PIX, a covered vessel used in Roman Catholic countries for holding the conse- crated host. Pi.xes are most frequently made of gold or silver, and sometimes are in form like a chalice Avith merely the addition of a lid. PLACARD, properly a written or printed paper posted in a public place. It seems to have been formerly the name of an edict, proclamation, or manifesto issued by authority, but this sense is, I believe, seldom or never anne.\od to the word. A placard now is an advertise- ment, or a libel, or a paper intended to censure public or private characters or public measures, jjosted in a public place. In the case of libels or papers intended to censure public or private characters, or the measures of government, these papers are usually pasted up at night for secrecy. It is also used for any paper posted to give public notice, as an adver- tisement. PLA'CITA, (Lat.,) in the middle ages, were public courts or nssemblies, in which the sovereign presided when a consulta- tion was held ujjon the affairs of the state. PLAFOND', the ceiling of a room whe- ther flat or arched ; also the under side of the jirojectiou of tlie larmierof the cornice, generally any sollit. PLA'UALMKL'ODIES, in niusic,such as have their principal notes lying be- tween the fifth of the key anil its octave or twelfth. PLA (JIARISM, (from the Latin legal term jilagium, which signified the offence of stealing a .slave, or kidnapping a free person into slavery.) A plagiary, in the modern sense of the word, is one who borrows without acknowledgment, in lit- erary composition, the thiaghts or words of another; and the theft itself is styled j plagiarism. PLAGl'E, a malignant'and contagious disease that often prevails in Egypt, Sy- ria, and Turkey. It generally proves fatal to nations and great cities, but is arrested by cleanliness, or the avoiding of putrid fermentations of which it seems to be an e.\tension. PLAIX-SONd, a term in ancient ec- clesiastical music signifying the plain, unvaried chant of churches; so called in contradistinction from the prick-song, or variegated music sung by note. It is an extremely simple melody and admits but one measure, the duple, and onlj' notes of equal value. It is rarely allowed to extend bc^iind the compass of an octave. It is still used in the Romish church. PLAIN'TIFF, in law, the person who commences a suit before a judicial tribu- nal, for the recovery of a claim ; opposed to defendant. PLAN, the representation of some- thing drawn on a, plane ; as a map, chart, or ichnography. It is, however, more particularly used for a draught of a build- ing, as it appears, or is intended to ap- pear on the ground; showing the extent, division, and distribution of its area, or ground plot, into apartments, rooms, pas- sages, Ac. — A perspective plan is that which is exhibited according to the rules of perspective. The word plan also sig- nifies a scheme or project; the form of something to be done existing in the mind, with the several parts adjusted in idea A plan, in this sense, may bo expressed in words or committed to writing; as a plan of a constitution of government, the plan, of a military expedition, &c. PLANTA'GENET, the surname of the royal family of England from Henry II. to Richard III. inclusive. The origin of the name is involved in deo]) obscurity. The best antiquaries derive it from the well-known story of the Earl of Anjou, the ancestor of the royal race, who hav- ing made a pilgrimage to Rome, wliere he was scourged with broom twigs, as- sumed the name of I'lantai^enista, (lite- rally, a broom tiris:,) which his desceuil- ants retained. The name I'lantagenet belongs to the noble house of Bucking- ham. PLANTA'TION, in the Tnitcd States and the West Indies, acuUivated estate; a farm. In the United States, this word i.< ple] AND THE I'INE ARTS. 477 applied to an estate, a tract of land oncii- pieil and cultivated, in those states only where the labor is performed by slaves, and where the land is more or less appro- priated to the culture of tobacco, rice, in- digo, and cotton, that is, from Maryland to Georgia inclusive, on the Atlantic, and in the western states where the land is ap- propriated to the same articles, or to the culture of the sugar-cane. From Mary- land, northward and eastward, estates in land arc called farms. — An original set- tlement in a new country ; a town or village planted. PLAS'TIC ART, a branch of sculp- ture, being the art of forming figures of men and animals in plaster, clay, &c.— The word plastic signifies having power to give form or fashion to a mass of mat • ter ; as, the plastic hand of the Creator, Ac. — Plastic nature, a certain power by which, as an instrument, many philoso- phers, both ancient and modern, supposed that the great motions in the corporeal world, and the various processes of gene- ration and corruption were perpetually carried on. PLAT'BAND, in architecture, asquare moulding projecting less than its height or breadth. The fillets between the flutes of columns are sometimes called, but improperly, by this name. It is also sometimes used to denote the lintel of a door. PLATE, in architecture, a piece of timber lying horizontally on a wall for the reception of the ends of girders, joints, rafters, &c. PLAT'FORM, in architecture, a row of beams which support the timber-work of a roof; iilso anj' erection consisting of boards raised above the ground for an exhibition or any other temporary pur- pose. — Flalform, in the military art, an elevation of earth on which cannon are mounted to fire on an enemy- PLATON'IC, pertaining'to Plato, his school, philosophy, opinions, etc. The leading characteristic of the mind of Plato is its comprehensiveness. This quality discovers itself equally in the form in which his philosophy is commu- nicated, and in that philosophy itself. The form to which we allude is, it is well known, that of the dialoirue. The Dia- logues of Plato are at once vivid repre- sentations of Athenian life and character, and constituent parts of a system of uni- versal philosophy; the harmonious pro- duction? of a genius which combined the dramatic imagination with the scientific intellect in a degree which has never be- fiire nor since been equalled. Tt is in this circumstance that we must seek alike lor the influence which Plato's writings have exerted, and for the difficulty of rightly apprehending their meaning. AVliat has been said of history in general may with equal truth be applied to the Platonic dialogues — that they are '" philosophy teaching by examples." In place of a formal refutation of sophistry, we are introduccil to living sophists ; in tiie room of an elaborate system of philosophy, we meet the greatest philosophers of his day, reasoning and conversing with dis- ciples eager in the pursuit of knowledge — with Athenians full of national preju- dices, with men abounding with individ- ual peculiarities. — Platonic lore denotes a pure spiritual affection, for which Plato was a great advocate, subsisting between the different sexes, unmi.xed with carnal affections, and regarding no other object but the mind and its excellencies. It is also sometimes understood as a sincere dis- interested friendship subsisting between persons of the same sex, abstracted from any selfish views, and regarding no other object than the individual so esteemed. — Platonic year, or the great year, a period of time determined by the revolution of the equinoxes, or the space of time in which the stars and constellations return to their former places in respect to the equinoxes. This revolution, which is cal- culated by the precession of the equinoxes, is accomplished in aboiijt 25,000 years. PLA'TONIST, one that adheres to the philosophy of Plato. PLATOON', in the military art, a small square body of forty or fiftj' musketeers, drawn out of a battalion of foot, and placed between the squadrons of horse to sustain them ; or a small body acting together, but separate from the main body ; as, to fire by platoons. PLEA, in law, that which is alleged by a party for himself in court, in a cause there depending; but in a more limited sense, the defendant's answer to the plain- tiff's declaration and demand. That which the plaintiff alleges in his decla- ration is answered and repelled, or justi- fied by the defendant's plea. PLEAD'ING. in law, a speech deliver- ed at the bar in defence of a cause : but, in a stricter sense, pleadings are all the allegations of the parties to a suit, made after the declaration, till the issue is joined. In this sense they express what- ever is contained in the bar, replication, rejoiner, Ac. till the question is brought to issue, that is, to rest on a single point. 478 CYCLOl'KDIA OF LITERATURE I'lK — Pleading, amongst the Greeks and Romans, was limiietl as to its duration, by a clepsydra or hour-glass of water ; and to see that the orators had justice done them, in this respect, an officer was appointed to distriliute the proper quan- tity of water to each. PLEASURE, the gratification of the senses or of the mind ; agreeable scnsa- tion^ or emotions; some enjoyment or delight lasting for a time and then ceas- ing ; the excitement, relish, or happiness produced by enjoyment or the expecta- tion of good; opposed to pain. We re- ceive pleasure from the indulgence of appetite ; from the view of a beautiful landscape ; from the harmony of sounds ; from agreeable society ; from the expec- tation of seeing an absent friend ; from the prospect of gain or success of any kind. — Pleasure, bodily and mental, car- nal and spiritual, constitutes the whole of positive happiness, as pain constitutes the whole of miserj'. — Pleasure is prop- erly positive excitement of the passions or the mind ; but we give the name also to the absence of excitement, when that excitement is painful ; as when we cease to labor, or repose after fatigue, or when the mind is tranquilliz.ed after anxiety or agitation.— P/eosMre is susceptible of increase to any degree ; but the word, when unqualified, expresses less excite- ment or happiness than delisht or joy. PLEAS URE-GROUND, 'that portion of ground adjoining a dwelling in the country which is exclusively devoted to ornamental and recreative purposes. In the ancient style of gardening, the pleas- ure-ground was laid out in straight walks, and regular or symmetrical forms, com monly borrowed from architecture; but, in the modern style, it is laid out in winding walks, and in forms borrowed direct from nature. A portion of lawn or smooth gra.=.sy surface may be con- side rcil as essential to the pleasure- ground under both stales. IM/EBE'I ANS, the free citizens of Rome who diil not come under the class of the patricians or clients. 'J'hough always personally independent, they had in early times no political power, the government being entirely in the hands of rhe patricians, who, with their clients iiml the king, formed the original people. The class of jilebeians was of after- growth, and probably drew its numbers from various sources, as from clients whose obligations were dissolved by the decay of the houses of their patrons, nnd the inhabitants of conquered states who where admitted to rights of citizenship. The plebeian families with patrician names are supposed to have arisen from marriages of disparagement contracted between the higher ami lower classes. As this body, from its constitution, naturally grew in vigor while the patricians became weaker, it soon formed the main strength of the Roman armies, and became desir- ous of sharing in the advantages of the conquests made by its prowess ; while the patricians, on their part, tenaciously clung to all their privileges, and, far from }-ielding to the demands of the other part}', exercised the severe rights which as creditors they possessed over the lib- erties of many of its members. This state of things produced a continued series of collisions between the two orders, in which the latter gradually gained ground, till, in the last ages of the rejiublic, it was admitted to a full share of all the powers and privileges before confined to one order. PLEDGE, something left in pawn ; that which is deposited with another as security for the repayment of money bor- rowed, or for the performance of some agreement or obligation. — In law, bail ; surety given for the prosecution of a suit, or for the appearance of a defendant, or for restoring goods taken in distress and replevied. — To pledge, in drinking, is to warrant a person that he shall receive no harm while drinking, or from the draught; a practice which originated with our an- cestors in their rude state, and which was intenlains this by saying, that poetry "doth raise and erect the mind, by submittin'j; the shoves of things to the desire of the mind" The imngination alters these "shows of things" by adding or subtract- ing qualities, and poetry produces to view the forms which result from the operation. 1. Imagination is, empiiatically, the great poetical faculty. It is "the first moving orcreative principle of the mind, which fashions out of materials previous- ly existing, new materials and original truths." It is " a complex i)ower, in- cluding those faculties which are called by metaphysicians conception, abstrac- tion, and judgment :" the first enabling us to form a notion of objects of percep- tion and knowledge ; the second " sepa- rating the selected materials from the qualities and circumstai\ces which are connected with them in nature ;" the third selecting the materials. Its opera- tions are most various, and it exhibits itself in poetry in very dilTcrent degrees and forms. It may shine here and there, chiefly in comparison, or in hold and pleasing metaphor, breaking tlie chain of a narrative, as in Homer and the earlier poetry of most nations ; it may hurry image on image, connected only by those exquisite links of thought which are present in the mind of the poet, in daring, compressed, rapid language, a^s if language were inadequate to its ex- pression, as in the inspired prophets, in ^Eschylus, and often in Shakspeare; it may preilominate in entire sustained conceptions, grasping at general features, as in Milton ; it may cling more eiosely to the "shows of things," dwelling in particulars, reproducing with startling vividness images little altered, graphic, and minute, as in Dante. 2. No distinction has given critics more trouble, in the way of definition, than that between imagination and fancy. " Fancy," it has been said, " is given to beguile and quicken the temporal part of our nature; imagination to incite and supi)ort the eternal." " Tiie distinction between fancy and imagination," says another, " is simply that the former alto- gether changes and remodels the original idea, impregnating it with soinctliing ex- traneous ; the latter leaves it undisturbed, but associates it with things to which in some view or other it bears a resem- blance." 3. Lord Jeffrey associates with the pleasure of imagination that derived from "the easy exercise of reason." This is produced chiefly by the faculties of thonglit, wit, and reflecf'on. It may, in- deed, be >loul)tcd whethv, : the expression of tliought, however energetic and acute, toe] AND THE FINE ARTS. 481 clad in current poetieal diction, is roally poetry. Certainly it is so, if at all, in a very inferior degree to that of the iina- giuation. 4. The expression of passion, sentiment, or pathos, is the most common and uni- versal of all sources of poetical pleasure. It is the very soul of all early and simple poetry; it pervades no less that of the most civilized communities. Yet this class of poetry is less truly and emphati- cally poetical than the imaginative, al- though more popular. The pleasure oc- casioned by it is of a mi.ved nature : it arises from the excitement of peculiar sympathies., not produced, but heightened only, by the form in which that excite- ment is conveyed. 5. The dramatic faculty, of which we have already spoken, seems to consist in acute powers of observation of the varie- ties of human character, together with the rarer power of delineating it with such force as to bring the imaginary per- son distinctly before the reader. It is the wonderful and unique characteristic of Shakspeare, in whom all individualit}-, as has often been observed, seems abso- lutely lost. 6. The descriptive faculty is of the same kind ; that of bringing the objects of ex- ternal nature, or passing scenes of what- ever sort, vividly before the reader's fancy. It is obvious that this also is a faculty com- mon to poets with many others who are not so : but sustained energy of descrip- tion, as in Homer, forms a magnificent groundwork for strictly poetical ornament. In the poetry of modern times, especially in this country, and in Germany, the description of external nature has been made subservient to the purposes of im- agination and reflection by writers of high genius ; and this combination pecu- liarly characterizes the taste of the ago. 7. Lord Jeffrey ranks last the pleasure derived from diction as of a secondary order, which it undoubtedly is, and yet almost essential. The highest poetry, without beauty of style, is rarely or never popular. AVe have no space to charac- terize minutely this poetical quality ; but by way of example, it may suffice to ob- serve that Virgil is, perhaps, of all poets, he of whose charm the greatest propor- tion is derived /rom simple beauty and felieity of diction ; through a whole range of ill-chosen subjects, always graceful, always equable, and as nearly approach- ing to faultlessness as human skill can construct. 8. Lastly, we must not ohiit the pleas- ure of vichdij : not essential to poetry, since there may be poetry without verse; not alwaj's a merit of the poet's own, since much depends on the language ; and a Greek or Italian poet, caitcris paribus, will ever be preferable to an English or German one on this account alone ; but a grace which heightens the charm of the noblest poetrj', and sometimes capti- vates the sense even in the most indiffer- ent. Dr. Channingsays, "In an intellectual nature, framed for progress and for higher modes of being, there must be creative energies, powers of original and ever- growing thought ; and poetry is th / form in which those energies are chiefly mani- fested. It is the glorious prerogative of this art that ' it makes all things new' for the gratification of a divine instinct. It indeed finds its elements in what it actually sees and experiences in the worlds of matter and mind ; but it com- bines and blends these into new forms and according to new affinities ; breaks down, if we may so say, the distinctions and bounds of nature ; imparts to material objects life, and sentiment, and emotion, and invests the mind with the powers and splendors of the outward creation ; de- scribes the surrounding universe in the colors which the passions throw over it, and depicts the mind in those moments of repose or agitation, of tenderness or sublime emotion, which manifests its thirst for a more powerful and joyful existence. To a man of a literal and prosaic char- acter, the mind may seem lawless in these workings ; but it observes higher laws than it transgresses, the laws of the immortal intellect; it is trying and de- veloping its best faculties ; and in the objects which it describes, or in the emo- tions which it awakens, anticipates those states of progressive power, splendor, beauty, and happiness, for which it was created. We accordingly believe that poetry, far from injuring society, is one of the great instruments of its refinement and exaltation. It lifts the mind above ordinary life, gives it a respite from de- pressing cares, and awakens the conscious- ness of its affinity with what is pure and noble. In its legitimate and highest efforts it has the same tendency and aim with Christianity; that is to spiritu- alize our nature. True, poetry has been made the instrument of vice, the pander of bad passions : but, when genius thus stoops, it dims its fires, and parts with much of its power; and, even when poe- try is enslaved to licentiousness or misan- 482 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITEKATrRE [POI. thropy, she cannot wholly forget her true vocation. Strains of pure feeling, touch- es of ten'lcrncss, images of innocent hap- piness, syrnpatliies with suffering virtue, bursts of scorn or indignation at the hollowness of the world, \i ><-^ iges true to our moral nature, often escMpe in an im- moral work, and show us how hard it is for a gifted spirit to divorce itself wholly from what is good. Poetry has a natural alliance with our best affections. It de- lights in the beauty and sublimity of the outward creation and of the soul. It indeed portrays with terrible energy the e.vcessos of the j)assions ; but they are passions which show n, mighty nature, which are full of power, whicli command awe, and c.\cite a deep though shuddering sympathy. Its great tendency and ])ur- pose is, to carry the mind above and heyond the be.aten, dusty, weary walks of ordinary life ; to lift it into a purer clement, and to breathe into it more pro- found ami generous emotion. It reveals to us the loveliness of nature, brings back the freshness of youthful feeling, revives the relish of simple pleasures, keeps unquenchcd the enthusiasm which warm- ed the spring-time of our being, refines youthful love, strengthens our interest in human nuture by vivid delineations of its tenderest and loftiest feelings, spreads our sympathies over all classes of society, knits us by new ties with uni- versal being, and through the brightness of its prophetic visions, helps faith to lay hold on the future life. It is not true that the poet paints a life which does not exist. He only extracts and concen- trates, as it were, life's ethereal essence, arrests and cimdenses its volatile fra- grance, brings together its scattered beau- ties, and prolongs its more refined but evanescent joys ; and in this, he does well ; for it is good to feel that life is not •wholly usurped by cares for subsistence and physical gratifications, but admits, in measures which may bo intlcfinitely enlarged, sentiments and delights worthy of a higher being " POINT, in music, a mark or note an- ciently used to liistinguish tones or sounds. Ilcnce, simple counterpoint is when a note of the lower part answers exactly to that of the upper : and figura- tive counterpoint is when a note is synco- pated, ami f)ne of the ])arts makes several notes or inflections of the voice, while the other holds on mie. — Ii modern music, a dot placed by a note to raise its value or prolong its time by one half, so as to make aseraibreve equal to three minims ; i a minim equal to three quavers, Ac. — A character used to mark the divisions of writing, or the pauses to be observed in reading or speaking ; as the comma, sem- icolon, colon, and period. The period is called a/u/Zslop, as it marks the close of a sentence. — Particular ; single thing or subject. In what point do we differ 7 All points of controversy between the parties are adjusteil. We say, in point of antiqui- ty, in point of fact, in point of excellence. The letter in every point is admirable. The treaty is executed in every point. POLA'CRE, a vessel with three masts, used in the Mediterranean. The masts are usually of one piece, so that they have neither tops, caps, nor cross-trees, nor horses to their upper j-.ards. POL'EMARCII. in antiquity, ai Athe- nian magistrate whose duty it was ; » take care that the children of such as lost their lives in their country's service were main- tained out of the jiublic treasury. lie had also the care of sojourners and stran- gers in Athens; his authority over them being equal to that of the archon over the citizens. POLEM'ICS, controversial writings, particularly applied to controversies on matters of divinity. POLE'-.STAR, or PO'LAR STAR, in astronomy, a star of the second magni- tude, the last in the tail of Ursa Minor, which is nearly vertical to the pole of the earth. Owing to its proximity, it never sets ; it is therefore of great use to nav- igators in the northern hemisphere, in determining the latitudes, kc. POLICE', is a term employed to desig- nate those regulations which have for their object to secure the maintenance of good order, cleanliness, health, itc. in cities ami country districts; and it is also used to designate the description of force by which these objects are' effected. This force differs from military in its being commanded by civil ofiioers and not be- ing under military law ; but it is general- ly drilled and armed in a half military manner, and has a distinctive uniform. The police force is employed alike to pre- vent and delect offences ; and may be either ojjcn or secret. By an open police is meant officers dressoil in their ac- customed uniform, and known to every- body; while by a secret police is meant officers whom it may be difficult or im- possible to distinguish from certain classes of citizens, whose dress and manners they may think it expedient to assume. The latter are employed that they may. with- out exciting Che suspicion of guilty par- pol] AND THE FINE ARTS. 483 ties, or of those who are projecting some outrage, acquire their conruletice, and by making themselves masters of their se- crets, secure their apprehension or pre- vent the outrage. POIj'ICV, in its primary signification, is the same as polity, comprehemling the fumlainental constitution or frame of civil government in a state or kingdom. But by usage, jyoliaj is now more gen- erally used to denote what is included under legislation and administration, and may be defined, the art or manner of governing a nation ; or that system of measures which the sovereign of a coun- try adopts and pursues, as the best adapt- ed to the interests of the nation. Thus we speak of domestic policy, or the sys- tem of internal regulations in a nation; J'o)-eign policy, or the measures which respect foreign nations; commercial pol- icy, or the measures which respect com- merce. — -Policy, in commerce, the writing or instruction by which a contract of indemnity is effected between the insurer and the insured ; or the instrument con- taining the terms or conditions on which a person or company undertakes to indem- nify another person or company against losses of property exposed to peculiar hazards, as houses or goods exposeil to fire, or ships and goods exposed to de- struction on the high seas. The terms policy of insurance or assurance, are also useil for the contract between the insurer and the insured. Policies are trained or open ; valued, when the property or goods insured are valued at prime cost ; open, when the goods are not valued, but if lost, their value must be proved. POLITE'NES.S, polished manners, or that conduct towards others wiiich good will in the first place, and good sense in the second, imperiously dictates. It unites gracefulness and gentility of be- havior with an obliging willingness to conform to the wants and wishes of others. ^ POLIT'ICAL ARITHMETIC, the art of making arithmetical calculations on matters relating to a nation, its revenues, value of lands and effects, produce of lands or manufactures, population, and the general statistics of a country. POLIT'ICAL ECON'OMY, the science of the laws which regulate the production, distribution, and consumption of the pro- ducts, necessary, useful, or agreeable to man, which it requires some portion of voluntary labor to produce, procure, or preserve. It must be observed, liowever, that the limits of this department of I knowledge are not yet nccurately defined , i hence much discussion has arisen among j different writers as to its extent, object, and the various subjects to be c(impre- hended under it. It is, in genernl, said of political economy, that its object is to ascertain the circumstances most f;i- vorable for the production of wealth, and the laws which determine its distribution, among the different ranks and orders into which society is divided ; and this defini- tion seems quite unexceptionable, pro- vided it be clearly understood, that by wealth, in this science, is meant only those articles or products which require some portion of human industry for their production, acquisition, or preservation, and which, consequently, possess ex- changeable value. The principal topics discussed by political economists are : — 1. The definition of wealth; 2. of pro- ductive and unproductive labor; 3. on the nature and measures of value ; 4. on the rent of land; 5. the wages of labor; 6. the profits of capital ; 7. the results of machinery ; 8. the circulating medium or currency ; 9 the nature and conditions of commerce, or exchange of commodities. Continental writers on political economy not only treat of the principles which govern the production and accumulation of wealth, and its distribution and con- sumption, but also introduce in their systems inquiries into the principles ac- cording to which the governments of states may be organized so as to promote in the best manner the well-being of those subjected to their authority ; but this last subject belongs properly to general politics. POL'ITICS, the science of government; that part of ethics which consists in the regulation and government of a nation or state, for the preservation of its safe- ty, peace, and prosperity ; comprehend- ing the defence of its independence anil rights against foreign control or conquest, the augmentation of its strength and resources, and the protection of its citi- zens in their rights, with the preservation and improvement of their morals — Poli- tics, in its widest extent, is both the science and the art of government, or the science whose subject is the regula- tion of man, in all his relations as the member of a state, and the application of this science. In other words, it is the theory and practice of obtaining the enda of civil society as perfectly as possible. The subjects which political science comprises have been arranged under the following heads: — 1. Natural law; 2, 484 CVCI.OPKDIA OF MTKUATniK [I'OL abstract politics, tli;»t is, the object of a state, and the relations between it and individual citizens ; 3. politic;il economj' ; 4. the science of police, or municipal reg- ulation : 5. practical politics, or the conduct of the iiuuiediate public affairs of a state; 6. history of politics; 7. his- tory of the Eurojiean system of states, being the only system in which the modern art of politics has received a prac- tical development ; 8. statistics; 9. posi- tive law relating to slate affairs, com- luonly called constitutional law; 10. prac- tical law of nations ; 11. diplomacy; I'i. the technical science of politics, an ac- quaintance with the forms and style of public business in different countries. In common parlance we understand by the politics of a country the course of its gov- ernment, more particularly as respects its relations with foreign nations. PUL'ITY, the form or constitution of civil government of a nation or state ; and in free states, the frame or funda- mental system by which the several branches of government are established, and the powers and duties of each desig- nated and defined. The word seems also to embrace legislation and administra- tion of government. — 2. The constitution or general fundamental principles of gov- ernment of any class of citizens, consider- ed in an appropriate character, or as a subordinate state. POLL, in elections, the register of those who give their vote, containing their name, place of residence, &c. Also the place where the votes are registered; as "we are going to the poll;" "several electors were unable to get to the poll," Ac. POLL TAX. a tax still levied in many of the continental states, and formerly also in England, in proportion to the rank or fortune of the individual. In England this species of tax was first levied in 1378; and, as is well knov.n, it was from the brutality with which the levying of it was accompanied, that the rebellion of Wat Tyler took its rise in 1381. A'arious poll taxes were levied at different ])eriods in the subsequent his- tory of England; but they were finally iiboli.>re Tax.^tion. POLONOISE', in music, a movement of three crotchets in a bar, with the rhvthiniciil cnstira on the last. 'P()LYANT()(;'RAI'11Y, the act or practice of multiplying copies of one's own hand-writing, by engraving on stone ; u species of lithography. POL' Y ARC II Y, a word sometimes u.sed by political writers in a sense opposed to monarchy : the government of many, whether a privileged class (aristocracy.) or the jieople at large (democracy.) POL'YCIIHUMY, a modern term used to express the ancient practice of color ing statues, and the exteriors and inte- riors of buildings. This praclice dates from the highest antiquity, but probably reached its greatQst perfection in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. POLYCj'AMY, a plurality of wives or husbands al the same time. In some countries, as in Turkey for instance, polygamy is allowed ; but by the laws of England, polygamy is made felony, except in the case of absence beyond the seas for seven j-ears. Polygamy pre- vailed among the Jewish patriarchs, both before and under the Mosaic law ; but the state of manners had probably be- come reformed in this respect before the time of Christ, for in the New Testament we meet no trace of its practice. Polyg- amy has been allowed under all the re- ligions which have prevailed in Asia. By the laws of Mohammed, every Mus- sulman is permitted to have a plurality of wives: the Arabs, however, seldom avail themselves of this privilege The ancient Komans never practised it, though it was not forbidden among them ; and Mark Antony is mentioned as the first who took the liberty of having two wives. From that time it became fre- quent in the Roman empire, till the reigns of Theodosius, llonorius, and Ar- eadius, who prohibited it a.d. 393. POL'YlJLOT, a word generally applied to such lliblcs as have been printed with the text represented in various languages, The most ancient instance of this parallel representation of various texts is the work of Origen, knoun by the name of the He.i-iiphi, in imitatinii of which seve- ral similar editions of the Scriptures have been pulilishcl since the invention of printing: of which the most important are, 1. T/ie Coinpliitengian, or edition of Cardinal Ximoncs, priiitc I !it Alcala in Spain, 1515, in four languages, com- prehended in six vols., fofio. 2. The Ant- ■wcrp I'vhji^lut, by Montanus, 8 vols., folio, 15(i».'.3. The Puiis Polyglot, by Le Jay, 10 vols , folio, 1628-15. 4. The Unglisk or Waltou^s I'ohjslot, London, 11557. These contain among them the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritar texts, with Latin versions each : the Sep- tuagint, the (ireek of the New Testament the Italic and the Vulgate. pon] AND TIIK FINK AIHS. 485 POL'YGRAPir, an instrument for mul- tiplying copies of a writing with ease and expedition. POLYd'RAPIIY, the art of writing in various ciphers, and deciphering tlie same. POLYHYMNIA, among the Greeks and Romans, the muse that presided over lyric poetry, to whom is attributed the invention of mimes and pantomimes. 13y the (irecian artists she is represented c.Tverod with a veil, and in a meditating posture. Her attributes are the lyre and the jilectrum. She places the forefinger of her xight hand upon her mouth, or holds a scroll. P L Y M ' A T H Y, the knowledge of many arts and sciences. Hence a person who is acquainted with many branches of learning is styled a polijmath. POL'YSTYLE, a term applied to an edifice, the columns of which are too nu- merous to be readily counted ; which reminds us of an old tradition respecting the pillars at Stonehenge — namely, that no two persons ever counted their num- ber alike on the first trial. POL'YSYLLABLE, in grammar, a word consisting of more syllables than three ; for when a word consists of one, two, or three syllables, it is called a monosyllable, dissyllable, and trisyllable. POLYSYN'DETON, in grammar and rhetoric, a figure in which a redundance of conjunctions, especially copulative ones, is used ; as, "' we have armies and fleets and gold and stores — all the sinews of war." POLY'TECH'NIC, an epithet denoting or comprehending many arts ; as, a. polytechnic school ; the Polytechnic Gal- lery. — The Polytechnic School, in France, was established by ii decree of the national convention of March lltli, 1794, which was passed by the influence of Monge, Carnot, Fourcroy, &c. It is now established in the buildings of the ancient college of Navarre. Napoleon did much for it, and under him it re- ceived considerable modifications. The pupils were obliged to live in the build- ing, and wear a uniform. Its object is to diffuse a knowledge of the mathematical, phj'sical, and chemical sciences, and to prepare the jiupils for the artillery ser- vice and the various departments of engineering, military, naval, and civil. The number of pupils is limited to 300. The terms for the students not supported on the foundation are 1000 francs a year, independent of the expense of uniform and books. The pupil, at the timo of admission, must be more than si.vteen and less than twenty years old. The course of studies lasts two years, in cer- tain cases three. A rigorous examination precedes admission, and another exami- nation takes place before the pupils leave the institution, and it is invariably attended by the greater number of the marshals of France, together with many of the most distinguished scholars. POMCE'RIUM, in antiquity, a space of ground both within and without the walls, which the augurs consecrated oq the first building of any city. POMO'NA, the Italian goddess of fruit-trees. Her worship was assiduously cultivated at Rome, where there was a Jlamen pornoiialis. who sacrificed to her every year for the preservation of the fruit. POM'PA CIRCEN'SIS, or CEREA'- LIS, in antiquit}', a procession exhibited at the Ludi Cereales of the Romans, consisting of a solemn march of the per- sons who were to engage in the exercises of the circus, attended by the magistrates and ladies of quality ; the statues of tho gods and illustrious men being carried along in state on wagons called thenscB. PON'TIFEX, among the Romans, was one of the order of Pontifices. who had the superintendence and direction of divine worship in general. The Pon- tifices were erected into a college consist- ing of fifteen persons, of whom the eight first had the title of Majores., and the seven others of rontifices Minores. They made together but one body, the chief of which was called Pontife.v Maxiinus . PONTIFF, the high or chief priest in the Romish and Greek churches. The ancient Romans had a college of pontiff's ; the Jews had their pontiff's; and the pope is called a sovereis^n pont'iff'. — The word pontificate is used for the state or dignity of a pontiff, or high-priest ; but more particularly for the reign of a pope. PONTIFICA'EIA, the robes in which a bishop performs divine service. PONTOONS', or PONTOON BRIDGE, a floating bridge, formed of flat-bottomed boats, anchored or made fast in two lines, and used in forming bridges over rivers for the passage of armies. — Pontoon car- riage, a vehicle formed of two wheels only, and two long side pieces, whose fore- ends are supported by timbers. PONT-VOLANT', in military afFairs, a kind of bridge used in sieges for sur- prising a post or outwork that has but narrow moats. It is composed of two small bridges hiid one above tho other. 486 CVCLOI'EDIA OF LI IKIiATlli E [I'OR nnd so contrived that, by the aiil of cords and pulley?, the upper one may be pushed forward till it reaches the destined point. POOR, THE. in political economy, the term employed to designate those per- rons, or that portion of tUe population of any county, who, being -E, in lloman antiquity, certain officers of inferior rank who assisted the priests at sacrifices. POPE, the head of the Roman Catho- lic church. The appellation o{ pope was anciently given to all Christian bishops; but about the latter end of the eleventh century, in the pontificate of Gregory VII. it was adopted by the bishop of Rome, whose peculiar title it has ever since continued. The spiritual monarchy of Rome sprung up soon after the declen- sion of the Roman empire. The bishops of Rome affect to owe their origin to the appointment of St. Peter, who was con- sidereil as transferring the keys of heaven (figuratively consigned to his keeping,) to these bishops as his successors ; hence they assumed a supremacy which was ad- mitted by all the Western Christians, but resisted by the Eastern ones, who in Greece, Turkey, and Russia, have a sep- arate Greek church. The vices of the clergy led, however, in the 14th and 1.5th centuries, to schisms ; and a personal quarrel between the pope and Henry \'I[I. induced the latter to assume the title of the Head of the Anglican church, as well as to recognize the principles of the Reformers, which were adopted by many German princes, and the Northern sovereigns. The pope retains his spirit- ual ascendancj' throughout Italy, France, Austria, Spain, and Portugal ; and four fifths of the Irish are Catholics. He is also regarded as a sovereign in certain provinces contiguous to Rome. POPULAR, enjoying the favor of the l^reat body of the people ; as, a popular ministry. Also, whatever pertains to the jonunon people ; as the popular voice. — [n law, a popular action is one which rives a penalty to the person that sues rl)r the same. POPl'LA'RES, the name of a party at Rome, who struggled to ingratiate them- ReU'CR with the jjeoplo, and, by extend- in^' /'i«ir influence and power, to increase their own. The Populares were opposed to tiio Op.\',i^tcs. POPULAR'ITY, the state of possess^ ing the afi^ections and confidence of the people in general. " The man whose ruling principle is duty, is never per- plexed with anxious corroding calcula- tions of interest and popularity.'' POPL'LA TION, the aggregate num- ber of people in any country. Owing to the increase of births above that of the deaths, the population is continually in- creasing in most parts of the haliitable world. " Countries," says Adam Smith, in his Wealth of Nations, " are populous, not in proportion to the number of peo- ple whom their produce can clolhe and lodge, but in proportion to that of those whom it can feed." The law of population, or of the increase of the human species, has not, till a comparatively recent pe- riod, attracted that attenti(m to which it is eminently entitled. It was formerly taken for granted that every increase of population was an advantage, and it was usual for legislators to encourage early marriages, and to bestow rewards on those who brought up the greatest number of children. But recent researches have shown that every increase in the numbers of a people, occasioned by artificial expe- dients, and which is not either accompa- nied or preceded by a corresponding in- crease of the means of subsistence, can bo productive only of misery or of increased mortality; that the difficulty never is to bring human beings into the world, but to feed, clothe, and educate them when there ; that mankind do everj-where in- crease their numbers, till their farther multiplication is restrained b}- the difli- culty of providing subsistence, and the poverty of some part of the society; and that, consequently, instead of attempting to strengthen the principle of increase, we shouM rather endeavor to strengthen the principles b}' which it is controlled and regulated. PORCH, in architecture, a kind of ves- tibule supported bj' columns at the en- trance of temples, halls, churches, or other buildings — By way of distinction, a public portico in Athens, where Zeno the philosopher taught his disciples, was called the porch. Hence, the porch, in clas- sical literature, is equivalent to the school of the Stoics. ' PORTCFL'LTS, a strong grating of timber or iron, resembling a harrow, made to slide in vertical grooves in the jambs of the entrance gate of a fortified place, to protect the gate in case of as- sault. The vertical bars, when of wood, were pointed with iron at the bottom, for AND MIF, K!NK A UTS. 487 tho purpose of striking into the ground when the grating was dropped, or of in- Portcullis. juring whatever it might fall upon. In general there were a succession of port- cullises in the same gateway. It is some- times called a portcliise. PORTE, THE SUBLIME, the official title of the government of the Ottoman empire : said to be derived from a gate of the palace at Broussa, the original metropolis of that empire, Bib Iluma- j'oor, the sublime gate. PORT'GREVE, or PORT'REEVE, in former times, a chief magistrate of a port or maritime town. This officer is now styled either mayor or bailiff. Ac- cording to Camden, the chief magistrate of London was anciently called porlgreve, but was e.Kchingcd by Richard I. for two bailiffs, and these gave place in the reign of John to a mayor. PORT'lIOLES, the openings or embra- sures in the sides of ships of war, through which gun.5 are put. POR'TICO, in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground, fupporto I by col- umns, where people m ly walk under cover. Though this word is derived from porta, a gate or door, yet it is used for any arrangement of columns which form a gallery. — The Athenians were curious in their porticoes, and the poets and phi- losophers recited their works, anl held their disputations there. The most fa- mous portico was that called Pcecile, which was in fact a picture gallery adorn- ed with the works of the greatest masters. PORT LAND VASE, a celebrated cin- erary urn or vase, long in pas.=ession of the noble family of the Barberini at Rome (whence it was called the Barberi- ni vase ;) from whom it came into posses- sion of the Portland family, who deposit- ed it, in 1810, in the British Miv-^eum, of which it is one of the rao.st valuable re- liques. This beautiful specimen of ancient art was found in the tomb of the Empe- ror Alexander Severus and his mother Mammsea. PORTRAIT, in painting the repre- sentation of an individual, or, more strict- ly speaking, of a face, painted from real life Portraits are of full length, half length, ite : and a-e e.xecuted in oil or water colors, crayons, &e. PORT ROY'ALISTS, the name popu- larly given to the members of the cele- brated convent of the Port Royal des Champs. It was founded about 1204, by Matthieu de Marli, on the eve of his de- parture for the Holy Land ; ami, though originally limited in its means and ob- jects, it gradually acquired such impor- tance as to have secured for it a prominent place in the history of Europe. It would be out of place here to give any details of its varied fortunes, and the religious controversies which it carried on in the 17th century — the period of its greatest importance. It was abolished by Louis XIV., as a nest of Jansenists and heretics. Among the distinguished names connect- ed witii Port Royal, are those of Lance- lot, Paschal, Arnauld, Nicole de Sacyj and Tillemont. The school books which were published for the use of that insti- tution, were translated into all the lan- guages of Europe, and maintained their reputation Imig after its abolition. POSID'IUM, or POSID'EON, in an- cient chronology, the seventh month of the Athenian year, which consisted of thirty days, an>wered to the latter part of December and beginning of January, and had its name from a festival in honor of Xeptune Posidonius which was during that month celebrated. POSTTIOX, in painting, the placing of the model in the manner best cal- culate 1 for the end in view by the artist. Such positions as are most natural and easy, and which exhibit the peculiar habit of the individual, in portrait paint- ing, are preferable. POS'ITIVE, is used in opposition to relative or arbitrary : thus, we say, beauty is no positive thing, but depends on different tastes. It is also used in opposition to natural : as, a thing is of positive right, meaning that it is founded on a law which depends absolutely on the authoritv of him who made it. POS'SE COMITA'TUS, in law, the armed power of the county, or the attend- ance of all persons charged by the sheriff to assist him in the suppression of riots, etc. POSSES'SION, in law, the Iiolding or occupying of anything, either dejure or de facto. Possession dejure, is the title a man has to enjoy a thing, th )Ugh it be usurped and in the actual possession of 488 CYCLOPEDIA OF LITKKATL'KK [PHA another; or where lands are descended to a person, and he has not j'et entered into them : and possession de facto, or actual possession, is where there is an actual and etfectual enjoyment of a thing. Long undisturbed possession is presuuij)- tive proof of right or property in the possessor. POST-DATE, to date after the real time ; as to post-date a bill or a contract, that is, to date it after the true time of drawing the one or making the other. POST-DILU'VIAN, a person who lived after the fiood, or who has lived since that event. POST-DISSE'IZIN, in law, a writ in- tended to put in possession a person who has been disseized after a judgment to recover the same lands of the same per- son, under the statute of Merton. POS'TEA, in law, is the return of a record of the proceedings in a cause after a trial and verdict by writ of nisi pj-ius, into the court of common pleas, after a verdict ; and there afterwards recorded. POS'TERN, in fortification, a small gate, usually in the angle of a flank of a bastion, or in that of the curtain or near the orillon, descending into the ditch. POSTHUMOUS, born after the death of a father. Also, published after the death of the author ; as postlmnwus works. POS'TIL, a marginal note ; originally, a note in the margin of the Bible, so called because written after the te.xt. POSTLIMINIUM, or POSTLIM'I- NY, among the Romans, was the return of a person to his own country who had gone to sojourn in a foreign country, or who had been banished or taken by an enemy. — In the modern law of nations, the right of postliminy is that by virtue of which, iicrsnns and tilings taken by an enemy in war, are restored to tlieir former state, when coming again under the power of the nation to which they belonged. But this cannot extend in all r.ises ti) personal efTocts, on account of the difficulty of ascertaining their iden- tity. POST'-NOTE, in commerce, a bank note intended to be transmitted to a dis- tant pbvce by the ])ublic mail, and made payable to o/v/tr ; dill'oring in this from a common bank note, which is payable to the hearer. POST-OFFICE, an establishment for the reception, conveyance, and delivery of letters, Ac. Posts were originally intended to serve merely for the convey- ance of public dispatche.-, and of persons travelling by authority of government But the great convenience it afiForded to individuals, particularly as commercial transactions multiplied and cctendud, to have a safe, regular, and speedy commu- nication between distant parts of the country, induced the government to con- vert it into a source of revenue. POST POSITION, in music, retarda- tions of the harmony, effected by placing discords upon the accented parts of a bar not prepared and resolved according to the rules for discords. POSTSCE'NIUM, in architecture, the back part of the theatre behiml the scenes, furnished with conveniences for robing the actors and depositing the machinery. POST'SCRIPT, an addition made to a letter after it is concluded and signed by the writer. Also, any addition made to a literary performance after it had been supposed to be finished, containing some- thing omitted or something new occur- ring to the writer. POSTULATES, fundamental princi- ples in any art or science, which are too easy and self-evident to need demonstra- tion. POWER, in a philosophical sense, the faculty of doing or performing anything. The e.\ertion oi power proceeds from the will ; and in strictness, no being destitute of will or intelligence can exert pt)wer. — Active power is that which moves the body ; speculalire power is that by which we see, judge, remember, or, in general, by which we tliink. Pi)wer may e.xist without e.xcrtion : wehavepojrer to speak when we are silent. 1'his word, indeed, has an almost unlimited signification, whether as regards animal strength or mental ability : we speak of the powers of genius; the reasoning p"',/-rs; the power which a man has of rci.^ving (ho distressed ; his moral power, quadrate, Ac — Power, in law, the authority which one man gives another to act for him. Tlie inslrument or deed by which this is done is cilli>d » power of attorney. PU.EDKPTOKIS, in ecclesiastical af- fairs, certain benefices having their name from being possessed by the more emi- nent Templars, whom the chief master, by his authority', created and called l'r(i;i;eptores Tevipli. PR/EOIPE IN CAP'ITE. in law, a writ issuing out of the court of chancery for a tenant who held of the king in cliief, as of hi.* crown, and not as of any honor, castle, or manor. PR.'ECOti'NlT.A, things proviou.sly pue] AND THE FINE ARTS. 48y known in order to understanl something else. Thus a knowledge of the structure of the human body is one of the praecog- nita of medical science and skill. PRxEFEC'TlIHE, in antiquity, an ap- pellation given to certain towns in Italy, whoso inhabitants had the name of Roman citizens, but were neither allowed to en- joy their own laws nor magistrates, being governed by annual prefects sent from Home. These were generally such places as were suspected, or had some way or other incurred the displeasure of the state. — The title prcejectus was given to many officers in ancient Rome. PRAEMUNIRE, in law, a writ granted against a person for introducing and maintaining the papal power, creating an iinpcriuiii in iniperio, and yielding that obedience to the mandates of the pope, which constitutionally belongs to our rightful sovereign. PR.ENO'iMEX, among the Romans, like our Christian name, served to distin- guish brothers, &c., from each other : as Caius, Lucius, Marcus, Julius, &c. Care was generally taken, in conferring the prcBriomen, to give that of the father to the oldest, that of the grandfather to the seconil, and so on. The prcBuomen was not brought into use till long after the nomen, or family name. PR.E'TOR, a chief magistrate among the Romans, instituted for the administra- tion of justice in the absence of the con- suls. The office oi prcctor was instituted in the year of the city 388, to administer justice in the city, instead of the consuls, who were at that time wholly engaged in foreign wars. The institution also was intended to compensate to the nobility the loss of their exclusive right to the consul- ship, to which honor the commons had now put in their claim, and succeeded. The praetor decreed and proclaimed pub- lic feasts, had the power to make and re- peal laws, with the approbation of the senate and the people ; and kept a regis- ter of all the freed-nien who were en- franchised at Rome. In the absence of the consuls he had a right to command the armies ; he also commanded the qur from the priests by living in seclusion and celibacy. They also preach, while the priests do not. VARU N.A, in Hindoo mythology, the god of tl)e waters, the Indian Neptune, and the regent of the west division of the earth, lie is represented as a white man. four-armed, riding on a sea animal, with a rope in one of his hands, and a club in another. VASE, in architecture, an ornament placed on cornices, socles, or pediments, representing such vessels as the ancients used in sacrifices, pellation also. The Vaudoia are celebrated for having maintained the purity of their doctrine for many ages 621 CVCLUI'KDIA UF LITKIIATLRS; [VEE before the l\fcform Eumenes, king of Pergamus, the contem- porary with Ptolemy Philadolpiiu.-i, who.-e motive for giving his attention to tho im- provement of vellum .s said to be as fol- lows : — The Egyptian monarch was anx- iously employed in perfecting his magni- ficent library at Alexandria ; with these feelings anil views, he prohibited the ex- portation of the papyrus from his domin- ions, that he might not be subjected to the inconvenience of wanting paper for the multitude of scribes, whom he con- stantly employed to copy the MSS. which ho had, by means of skilful emissaries, collected in every part of the known world. VENEER'INU, the art of inlaying furniture, Ac, with different kinds of wood, metal, or other materials. Also, of making representations of flowers, birds, and other figures. VENE'TIAN SCHOOL, the distin- guishing character of this school is color- ing, and a consummate intellectual knowl- edge of chiaro-scuro ; in both which, all is grace, spirit, and faithful adherence to nature, so seductive as to lead the spec- tator away from aay consideration of its defects. It is an exquisite bouquet of well-arranged flowers ; or a collection of pulpy, juicy, saccharine fruits. But it is not to be inferred that it is altogether wanting in still higher accomplishments : for the head of it was Tiziano de Vecelli ; and in its ranks are to be found Tinturet- to, Paul Veronese, Giorgione, and many other illustrious masters. See Painting. VENIAL SIN, in theology, is defined by Roman Catholic theologians, a sin which weakens sanctifying grace, but does not take it away. It is not neces- sary, although commendable, to mention such sin in confession. Reformed theo- logians altogether reject the formal dis- tinction between venial and mortal sin. VENI'RE FA'CIAS, in law, a judicial writ, directed to the sheriff, to cause u jury to come or appear in the neighbor- hood where a cause is brought to issue, to try the same. A venire facias de nova, being a writ directing the sherifiF to cause a jury to come and try a cause a second time, is granted where there has been a 62G CYCLOrEDIA OK 1.1 IKK ATLllK [VBR mis-trial ; on the ground of irregularity, sis, for instance, in summoning the jury ; on the ground of misconduct by the jury ; and also in certain c:ises where the ver- dict given is inipcrfoct by reason of some ambiguity and uncertainty. The great rule of ditfercnce between a venire do novo in the latter case and a new trial is, that the former is only granted on matter appealing on the record. VENf, S.-VNC'TE SPIRI'TUS, (Lat. Cuine, Holy (rhosl.) The name given to a mass in the Roman Catholic church to invoke the assistance of the Holy Spirit. VEN'TIDUCT, in building, a passage for wind or air ; a subterraneous passage or spiracle for ventilating apartments. VEXTILATiON, the act of expelling impure air, and of dissipating no.\ious vapors. Tew persons are aware how very necessary a thorough ventilation is to the preservation of health. We pre- serve life without food for a considerable time ; but keep us without air for a very few minutes, and we cease to e.xist. It is not, however, enough that we have air; we must hn,vo fresh air, for the principle by which life is supported is taken from the air during the act of breathing. One fourth only of the atmosphere is capable of supporting life ; the remainder serves to dilute the pure vital air, and render it more fit to be respired. VEXTRIL'OQUISM, an art or prac- tice of speaking, by means of which the voice appears to proceed from dififcrent places ; though the utterer does not change his place, and in many instances does not appear to speak. It has been considered that the sounds were produc- ed independent of the labial and lingual organs, and was supposed to be a natural peculiarity, because few persons have learned it by being taught ; but it is cer- tain that practice only is necessary to carry tliis act of illusion to a high degree of perfection, and that the sound is not produced during inspiration, but proceeds as unual, during expiration, with a less opened mouth. The art of the ventrilo- quist consists merely, in this: afterdraw- ing a long breath, he breathes it out slowly and gradually, dextrously dividing the air, and diminishing the sound of the voice by the muscles of the larj-nx and the palate, moving the lips as little as possible. VEN'lIE, in law, a neighborhood or near place ; the place where an action is laid. The county in which the trial of a particular cause takes place, is said to be the venuo of that cause. Originally jurors were summoned from the immedi- ate neighborhood where a fact happened, to try it by their own knowledge, but they are now summonable from the body of the county. In what are termed /ota/ ((c7;ons, the actual pl.ice in which tl.o subject matter is situated must be l.iid as the venue in the action ; but in those actions tertaed transilorij, that is, actions of debt, contract, for i)ersonal injuries, 4,e, and being governed by their native kings; till Llewellin, their last prince, being vanquished and slain in 1283, wh< e resisting the forces of Ed- ward I., th& country was united to Eng- land. The jieople submitted to the Eng- lish dominion with extreme reluctance; and Edwarc?, as a conciliatory means, promised to give them for their prince a Welshman by birth, and one who could speak no other language. This notice being recei\ ed with joy, he invested in the prineipalitj' his second son, Edward, then an infint, who had been born at Carnarvon. The death of his eldest son, Alphonso, happening soon after, young Edward became heir also of the English monarchy, and united both nations under one governiuent ; but some ages elapsed, before the animosity which had long sub- sisted betw(;en them was totally extin- guished. WEH'EGfLD, in ancient English law, a compensa(,ion paid for a man killed by the person v^ho caused his death. Black- stone says it was paid partly as a penal- ty to the king for the loss of a subject, partly to the lord of the vassal, and part- ly to the next of kin. WEST, one of the cardinal points, be- ing that point of the horizon where the sun sets at the equinox, or any point in a direct line between the spectator or other object, and that jioint of the horizon. In a less strict sense, it is that region of the hemisphere near the point where the sun sets when in the equator. 638 CYCLOPEDIA OF LI lEIlATf UE WHl WEST'ERNE.M'PIRE, the nnme given by hisloriiin? to tlic wct-tcrn divi.-iioii of the Roman empire, when divided, bj the will of Theodcisius the Great, between his sons llonorius and Arcjidius, ad. 395. After tile deposition of the emperor An- gustuliis hy Odoacer, a.d. 47G, the Wes- tern einjiire was definitely at an end. But when Charlemagne, in the 3'ear 800, assumeil the imperial crown, it was with the view of reassuining the ancient dig- nity of the C;t.sar.-i in Western Europe; and after him the (ierinan emperors were considered by the jurists of their own country, and of their party in Ital^-, as representing the majesty of ancient Rome, the Italian states being looked on as feu- dat iries of the empire. WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY, a name given to the synod of divines and laymen, who in the reign of Charles I , assembled by authority of parliament, in Henry the Seventh's chapel, Westmin- ster, for the purpose of settling the gov- ernment, liturgy, and doctrine of the Church of England. The great majority of those who attended this assembly were presbyterians. Those members of epis- copalian principles refraineil from attend- ing, because the king liaii declared against the asseinbl}'. The Westminster Assem- bly continued in e.xistence for five years and a half. They signed the solemn league and covenant, drew up the Con- fession of Faith, a Directory for Public Worship, the Larger and Sliortor Cate- chisms, and some other publications of temporary importance. WHEEL, BRE.AK'IXa ON THE, a mode of cajiital jiunishmenf, said to have been first employed in (lermanj- ; according to some writers, on the mur- derers of Leopold, duke of Austria, in the 14th century. According to the Ger- man method of this savage execution, the criminal was laid on a cart-wheel with his arms and logs extended, and his limbs in that posture fractured with an iron bar. But in France (where it was restricted to cases of assassination, or other murders of an atrocious descrip- tion, highway ridibery, parricide, and rape ) the criminal was laid on a frame of wooil in the form of a St. Andrew's cross, with groove.* cut transversely in it above and below the knees and elbows; and the executioner struck eight blows with an iron bar, so as to break the limbs in those places, sometime.-: finishing the criminal by two or three blows on the ehest or .'tomach : thence called coui)s de grace. lie was then unbound and laid on a small carriage wheel, with his face upwards, and his arms and legs doubleJ under him ; there to expire, if .-till alive. Sometimes the sentence contained a re- teiitum, by which the executioner was directed to strangle the criminal, either before the first, or after one, two or three blows. This punishment was abolished in France at the Revolution ; but it is still resorted to in Germany as the pun- ishment for parricide, the last instance of which took place in 18'27 near (i(jltiii- gen. The assassin of the bishop of Erme- land in Prussia, in 1841, was sentenced to the wheel. WHIG, one of a ])olitical party which had its origin in England in the 17th century, in the reign of the Stuarts, when great contests existed respecting the royal prerogatives. Those who supported the king in his high claims were called To- ries, and the advocates of popular rights were called fVhigs. The term is of Scot- tish origin, and was first used in the reign of Charles 11. According to Bishop Burnet, it is derived trom wliiggani, a word which was useil by the peasants of the south-west of Scotland, in driving their horses ; the drivers being called ichis'gamores, contracted to ichiggs. In 1648, after the news of the Duke of Ham- ilton's defeat, the clergy stirred up the peojile to rise and march to Edinburgh, and they themselves inarched at the head of their parishes. The Marquis of Ar- gyle and his party came and headed them. This was called the irhiggainores' inroad, and ever after {hat all that op- posed the court came, in contempt, to be called irhiggs ; and from Scotland, the word was brought to England, where it has since continued to be used as the distinguishing appellation of the political party opposed to the Tories. It was first assumed as a party name by that body of politicians who were most active in placing William III. on the throne of England. Generally speaking, the prin- ciples of the whigs have been of a pop- ular character, and their measures, when in power, tending to increase the demo- cratic influence in the constitution In American history, the friends and sup- porters of the war and the principles of the revolution, were called w/iigs. and those who opposed them were called tories and rui/cdists. One of the two great political parties in the United States, is (riilled u-hiT. the most perfect game at the carf j)remunii-e, when it incurs forfeiture of all propertj'; and of 7«i tarn, when to recover a line, of which the pros- ecutor is to have a share. WRI'TING, an art and act of express- ing and conveying our ideas to others by letters or characters visible to the eye. AVithout its aid the experience of each generation would hare been almost en- tirely lost to succeeding ages, and only a faint glimmer of truth could have been discerned through the mists of tradition. The most ancient remains of writing, which have been transmitted to us, are upon hard substances, such as stones and metals, which were used for edicts and matters of public notoriety. Thus we read that tlie decalogue was written on two tables of stone ; but this practice was not peculiar to the Jews, for it was used by most of the Eastern nations, as well as by the Greeks and Romans. The laws penal, civil, and ceremonial, among the Greeks, were engraven on tables of brass, called cyrbes. The Chinese, before the invention of paper, wrote or engraved with an iron tool, or style, upon thin boards or on bamboo. Pliny says, that table-books of wood were in use before the time of Homer. In later times the'se tables were usually waxed over, and written upon witii a style. What was written upon the tables which were thus waxed over was easily eifiiced, and by smoothing the wax new matter might be substituted in the place of what was writ- ten before. The bark of trees was also used for writing by the ancients, and is so still in several parts of Asia. The same may be said of the leaves of trees But the Greeks and Romans continued the use of waxed table-books long after the use of papyrus, leaves, and skins became common, because they were so convenient for correcting extemporary compositions. X, the twenty-fourth letter of the Eng- lish alphabet, is borrowed from the Greek. When used at the beginning of a word, it has precisely the sound of z, but in the mitldlc and at the end of wonls, its sound is the same as ks ; as, ira.r. Iii.viiri/, tax- ation, ic. In French, .r has the various pronunciations of .s, ,•?,«, qz, and z, accord- ing to circumstances. The Italians never use it, on acco-irl if if^? guttural charac- ter, but express it by sc, as in Atessan- tiro ; and the German.t gen' struds for Christ, as in Xn., Christian ; Xmas., Cliristmas. XANG TI in theology, a name among the Chinese for the t5U[)reme Being. XAN'TIIICA, in antiquity, a .Mace- donian festival, so called because it wai( observed in the month Xanthus, whicb is supposed to have been the same as April. XEBEC, a small three-masted vessel, used in the Mediterranean t^ea, and on the coasts of Spain, Portugal and Barbary. Being generally' equipped as a corsair, the xebec is constructed with a narrow floor, for the sake of speed, and of a great breadth, so as to bo able to carry a con- siderable force of sail without danger of overturning. When close hauled, it car- ries large lateen sails. The Algeriue xebecs usually carried from 16 to 24 guns, and from 300 to 450 men, two thirds of whom were soldiers. XENELA'SIA, in antiquitj', a law among the Spartans, by which strangers were excluded from their society, not out ot fear lest they should imitate the Spar- tan manners, but lest the Spartans should be contaminated by foreign vices. It was a barrier set up against contagion ; but was not so strict as to exclude deserving men, or any talent worthy of being re- ceived. XE'NIA, among the Greeks and Ro- mans, were presents made by strangers to such persons as had treated them with kindness and hospitality — Xeiiia was also a name given to the gifts and presents made to the governors of provinces by the inhabitants of them. XENUDO'CillA, in antiquity, places where strangers wore lodged and enter- tained. X E N P A R 'C H I, in antiquity, Roman officers whose business it was to provide every necessary for ambassa- dors. XEROPIIAGV, the name given to a sort of fast which was adopted in the primitive ages of Christianity, and which consisted entirely o( dry viands. XES'T7\, in antiquity, an Athenian YEO AM) llIK KINK AKTS. 045 measure of capacity, answering to tho Roman sextarius. XYLOCO'PIA, among tho Greeks, a sort of punishment inflicted with a cudgel. XYLOG'RAPIIY, wood- engraving ; the act or art of cutting figures in wood, in representation of natural ob- jects. XY'LON, a species of punishment in use among the Greeks, which answered to our putting offenders in the stocks. XYiSOE'ClA, an Athenian festival, observed in memory of Theseus having united all the petty communities of At- tica into one commonwealth, whose as- Betnblies were ever after to beheld in the Prytaneum at Athens. XY'S'TARCII, an officer in the Grecian gymnasium, who presided over the xystus, as lieutenant to the gymnasiaroh. His business was to superintend the uthletce in their exercises in the two xysti. XY'S'TER, in surgery, an instrument used for scraping bones. XYS'TUS, or XYS'TOS, among the Greeks and Romans, a portico covered at the top, designed for the exercise of the wrestlers when the weather did not per- mit them to contend in the open air. The Xystus made a necessary part of a gym- nasium : and the name given to the ath- lette who performed their exercises there, was Xystici. Y, the twentj'-fifth letter of the Eng- lish alphabet, is sometimes used as a vowel, and at other times as a consonant : as the latter at the beginning of words. In the middle and at the end of words, y is precisely the same as i ; being sound- ed as i long, when accented, as in reply, defy; and as i short, when unaccented, as in synonymoux, liberty, ability, &c. — Y, as a numeral, stands for 150, and with a dash over it, for 150,000. — Y, by the Pythagoreans, was made the emblem or sj'mbol of virtue and vice. The broad line at the bottom of the letter, repre- sents the innocency and simplicity of in- fancy and early youth. The place where it is divided into two parts shows us the years of discretion, when we take the side of wisdom or of folly, andean discrim- inate what is right from what is wrong. The narrow line on the right exhibits to the fancy the strait path that leads to happiness, and the difficulties which at- ■ tend a course of virtue. The broad line on the left represents the broad road that leads to destruction, and the seducing blandishments of vice. Y'ACllT, a sailing vessel, pleasure boat, or small ship with one deck, suffi- ciently large for a sea voyage. In its original signification it is a vessel of stale used to convey princes, ambassadors, and other great personages from one kingdom to another. It is usually fitted with :i variety of convenient apartments and suitable furniture. The smaller yachts are generally rigged as sloops. YA'GERS, or JAGERS, light infantry armed with rifles {chasseurs, riflemen) In the Prussian service, the Y'agers form a distinct corps with peculiar discipline; in that of Austria, ligiit infantry, gene- rally from the mountain districts. In Germany the term jager is applied to a peculiar species of higher servant attach- ed to the families of the aristocracy. Y'A'HOO, a name given by Swift, in one of his imaginary voyages, to a nice of brutes, having the form of man and all his degrading pas.-ions. Thej' are placed in contrast with the Houyhnhurn.i, or horses endowed with reason, the whole being designed as a satire on the human race. Chesterfield uses the term yahoo for a savage, or one resembling a savage. YAN'KEE, a word comraonlj' applied to an inhabitant of the United States, as John Bull is to an Englishman or Myn- heer to a Dutchman. It is said to have originated in a corrupt pronunciation of the word English by the native Indians of America, who called the early settlers from Great Britain Yengeese, but this etymology is doubtful. Y'^EO'MAN, in English polity, a com- vioner, or a plebeian of the first or most respectable class. In ancient times, it denoted one of those who held folk-latid ; that is, had no fief, or book-land, and therefore did not rank among the gentry. What he possessed, however, he possessed independently; he was, therefore, no man's vassal. To understand the true condition of the ancient yeomen, it must be observed that there were some lands which never became subject to the feudal system. These were called folk -lands, oi the lands of the people. When therefore, it is said that the sovereign is lord of the soil of all England, the assertion is not true. He is certainly the lord paramount of all fiefs ; but he has no such reversion- ary interest in lands that were never held in fee. The collective body of yeo- men or freeholders is termed Yeomanry. — Yeomen of the Guard, a certain de- 6-16 CVCl.OrKDIA OF LITERATURE [/.K> seription of foot-guarJs, who attend iin- meJiately on the person of the sovereign. They were established by Henry Vlll., and their office and dress continue the same. YEZDEGEtl'DIAX, noting an era, dated from the overthrow of the Persian empire, when Yezdegerd was defeated by the Arabians, in the eleventh 3-ear of the Heglra, ad. C36. YEZ [DEES, a small tribe bordering on tlie Euphrates, whose religion is said Ui be a mi.vture of the worship of the devil, with some of the doctrines of the Magi, Mohammedans, and Christians. YU'GA, among the Hindoos, a species of asceticism, which consists in a complete abstraction from all worldly objects, by which the Hindoo ascetic e.xpecrs to ob- tain final emancipation from further mi- grations, and union with the universal spirit. Those who practise the Yoga are called Yogis, and the horrible tortures which they commit on themselves have been often described. YOUTH, in painting, sculpture, &e. The most beautiful period of life, and consequently that which the nrtist will select to display and embody his abstract ideal of corporeal human perfection. The smooth and glowing substance of the skin, the beautifull}' defiued contours of the figure, the firm and well knit muscles of man, and the delicious shapeliness of woman ; these qualities, as they are in themselves uniformly amiable in real life, so they cannot fail to draw forth the ability of the artist, and excite the admi- ration of the beholder, w.hen transmitted to canvass or marble. YULE, the common .Scottish name for Christmas. It appears to be a very an- cient Celtic word. In ^\''elsh, wyl or gywl sigr;£cs a holiday; whence al.-;!) the old phrase, "Gule of August," the first day of August, or fast of >St. Peter and Viiicula, for which various absurd ety- mologies have been found. Perhaps tlie old French word '• Noel," for Christmas (used also generally as a popular cry of rejoicing,) has the same original. Count de trebelin, however, derives yule from a supposed primitive word connected with the idea of revolution or " wheel." Z, the last letter of the English alpha- oet, is a sibillant articulation and somi- >owa'" bearing the same relation to s, as r does to /". In Italian, it is somo- times sounded like our ts, sometimes like ds ; in Spanish, it corresponds to our tk; and in French, when pronounced at all, it has the sound of a forcibly articulated s. As a numeral, Z stands for 2,000, and with a dash over it for '2,000,000. ZAC'CHO, in architecture, the lowest part of the pedestal of a column. ZAIMS, a name for certain leaders or chiefs among the Turks, who support and pay a mountel militia of the same name. ZEAL'OT, one who engages warmly in any ciuse, and pursues his object with earnestness and ardor. It is generally used in dispraise, or applied to one whose ardor is intemperate and censuraole. The fury of zealots was one cause ot the destruction of Jerus.ilera. ZECHARI'AH, one of the minor pro- phets, who prophesied in the reign of Darius Hystaspes. The design of the fir.4 p;irt of Zechariah's prophecy, like that of his contemporary, Hhggai, is to entourage the Jews to procfccd with re- building the Temple, by giving them assurance of God's aid and protection. From this he proceeds to forctel the glory of the Christian church (the true Temple of (ioi.) under its great High- priest and Ruler, Jesus Christ; of whom Zerubbabel and Joshua were figures. He treats of his death, sufferings, and king- dom, in many prirticulars not mentioned by any other of the minor prophets before him; everything relating to those great events becoming more explicit, in pro- portion as their accomplishments drew nearer. His style, like that of Haggai, is for the most pait prosaic, especially towards the beginning; the last si.K chapters are more elevated ; for which reason, among others, these si.x chapters are, by many commentators, ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah. ZEMINDAR', r. title introduced into India by its Mohammedan comjuerors, conferred in Bengal, and generally throughout the Mogul empire, on the agent employed to collect that share of the produce of the soil which belongs to it. The zemindars were the great land- holders of the Mogul empire; but the nature of their tenure has given rise to muchdispute. Whether they were heredi- tary, absolute owners of the soil, or only tenants of the sovereign at a fixed rent by way of land-tax. for which they were personally responsible, was a question much agitated by writers on Indian sub- jects at the period of the " Permanent Settlement" in 1793. By that settlement zot] AXU THE FINK AIMS. G4' the rent was to be fixed in the first instance by custom, and the zemindar was then to give the ryot a lease re- stricted to himself and his assignees on performance of its conditions ; liis own share being fixed as befcire iit 10 per cent, of the assessment, and his hereditary right secured. A zemindary, i. e , the di.-trict of a zemindar, is liable to be sold by government for arrears of revenue, and existing leases with the ryots to be set aside. At present the land-tax of India is levied in three methods, which pievail in dift'erent districts — the " ze- mindar settlement," by which the zemin- dar is responsible to government ; the " mouzawar" or village settlement, by which the collector contracts with the head man of the village ; and the "ryot- war"' or cultivator settlement, by which the tax is collected immediately from the peasantry- ZEND, or ZENDAVE.S'TA, a book ■iscribed to Zoroaster, and containing his pretended revelations ; which the an- cient magicians and modern Persians, called also G:iurs, observe and reverence in the same manner as the Christians do the Bible, iv d the Mahometans do the Koran, making it the sole rule of their faith and manners. ZEN'DIK, in Arabic, a name given to those who are charged with atheism. or rather disbelief of any revealed reli- gion ; or with magicril heresies. The sect of Zendiks ojiposed the progress of Mo- hammedanism in Arabia with great ob- stinacy. It appears to have had many features in common ■with Sadduceeism among the Jews. ZEPHANI'AH, a canonical book of the Old Testament, containing the pre- dictions of Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, and grandson of Gedaliah; being the ninth of the twelve lesser prophets, lie prophesied in the time of king Josiali, a little after the cajitivity of the ten tribes and before that of Judah ; so that he was contemporary with Jeremiah. ZEPIITRUS, or ZEPHYR, the west wind ; a wind blowing from that cardinal point opposite to tiie east. The poets personify it, and represent Zephyrus .as the mildest and most gentle of all the deities of the woods ; the character of this personage is youth and gentleness. It is also called Favonius and Occidens. ZEUG'MA, a figure in grammar by which an adjective or yerb which agrees with a nearer word, is, by way of supple- ment, referred to another more remote. ZO'IIAK, a Jewish book, highly esteem- ed by the rabbis, and supposed to be of great, though altogether unascertained antiquity. It consists of cabalistical com- mentaries on Scripture, especially the books of Moses. It has been translated into Latin. ZOLL'VEREIX, the Prussian or Ger- man comraeicial orcustoujs union, found- ed, through the example and efforts of the government of Prussia, in the year 1834, and having for its object the estab- lishment of a uniform rale of customs duties throughout the various states join- ing the uniim. ZOOL'ATRY, the worship of animals, which was the characteristic of the an- cient Egyptian religion most remarked upon by foreigners. ZOTHECA, in architecture, a small room, or alcove, which might be added to or separated from another, by means of curtains and windows. FSNI8. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. RECIJQJ-Oltf m* i „ REFD ID-OTJ JSMAY 71986 mm Z] >lPt)^17 1« 1?74 Form L9-Series 4939 ' — "~ "■'" """••". i-'v-tor- wi luc luciiajr ui |)rrT-ti>[ioil, ana tnO result of its exercise npon the tastes and emotions. It may therefore be termed a Com- pendium of Aesthetics and Nattiral Morals ; and its use in refining the mind and heart has made it a standard test-book. BOYD'S ANNOTATED ENGLISH CLASSICS. Milton's I'arailise I^o.st. Youttf/'a yif/ht Tlionf/Iits. Coirjtrr's Tush, Tnhle Tnllt, Ac. Tliotnsoti '.V S^'tisoiis. J'ollok's Course of Time. J^ot'il Jtitrott 's JCssHf/s. In six cheap volumes. The service done to literature, by Prof. Boyd's Annotations upon tliese st^indard writers, can with difHculty be estimated. 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