This awkward and illogical division continues in many Catholic schools, where the different classes are arranged according to it. In modern times, we divide arts into fine and useful or mechanical arts, comprising under the former all those, the direct object of which is not utility, as poetry, music, architecture, painting, sculpture, &c. If we speak of the fine arts simply, not in contradistinction to the useful arts, we generally intend only architecture, painting, sculpture and engraving, with their subdivisions. (For the history and description of each of the fine arts, see the respective articles.)—The mechanical arts, as we have said, were practised, among the ancients, by slaves or by women, many things of the first necessity being, of course, manufactured in the house. Refinement, however, in the course of time, made more skill necessary, in some branches of manufacture, than is generally to be expected from women or slaves. Thus we find, in the middle ages, up to the 10th century, besides the slaves or bondsmen, free persons practising the useful arts. From that time, however, it seems that mechanical arts were carried on only by freedmen, or nuns and monks, who worked both for themselves and others. When the cities grew up, and their number and population rapidly increased, one of the immense changes which history shows to have sprung from them, was the elevation of the mechanical arts. It was now esteemed honorable to be a skilful mechanic. In many instances, too, they became blended with the fine arts, and the names of several workmen have been handed down to us, with a reputation akin to that of artists; e. g., Benvenuto Cellini, Peter Fischer. (See Corporation.)

ARUNDELIAN MARBLES; a series of ancient sculptured marbles, discovered by William Petty, who explored the ruins of Greece, at the expense of and for Thomas Howard, earl of Arundel, who lived in the time of James and Charles I, and devoted a large portion of his fortune to the collection of monuments illustrative of the arts, and of the history of Greece and Rome. These marbles, named in honor of their purchaser, arrived in England, in the

year 1627, with many statues, busts, sarcophagi, &c. John Selden published some of the inscriptions, which he thought most interesting, under the title of Marmora Arundeliana, 4to., London, 1628. It is supposed that not more than half of the original number escaped destruction in the civil wars: they were then in the garden of the earl, in the Strand, in London. Henry Howard, duke of Norfolk, grandson of the collector, presented the remainder to the university of Oxford, where they still remain. The whole collection of inscriptions was published by Humphrey Prideaux, in 1676; by Michael Maltaire, in 1732; by Dr. Chandler, very splendidly, in 1763. These inscriptions are records of treaties, public contracts, thanks of the state to patriotic individuals, &c., and many of a private nature. The most curious and interesting is one usually known by the name of the Parian Chronicle, from having been kept in the island of Paros. It is a chronological account of the principal events in Grecian, and particularly in Athenian history, during a period of 1318 years, from the reign of Cecrops, B. C. 1450, to the archonship of Diognetus, B. C. 264. The authenticity of this chronicle has been called in question, but has been vindicated by many of the most learned men.

ARUNS, Tarquinius; the son of Tarquin II, the last king of Rome, who, meeting Brutus in the first battle after the expulsion of the royal family, they mutually killed each other.

ARUSINI CAMPI (Arusian fields); plains in Lucania, famous for the last battle between the Romans and Pyrrhus. (q. v.)

ARUSPICES, or HARUSPICES; Roman priests and prophets, who foretold events from observing the entrails of sacrificed animals. They observed, too, all the circumstances which accompanied or happened during the sacrifice; e. g., the flame, the mode in which the animal behaved, the smoke. Their origin is to be sought for in Etruria. They were introduced into Rome by Romulus, where they enjoyed their authority till the time of the emperor Constantine, 337 A. D., who prohibited all soothsaying on pain of death. Their number, at this time, was 70; their chief priest was called summus arusper, or magister publicus.

As. The Romans used this word in three different ways, viz., to denote, 1, any unit whatever, considered as divisible; 2, the unit of weight, or the pound (libra); 3, their most ancient coin. In the

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compactly-fibrous masses, harder and heavier than the other varieties (common asbestus). Its most common colors are gray, yellow, green and blue, intermingled with white. It is found in all countries more or less abundantly, and exists, forming veins, in serpentine, mica slate, and primitive lime-stone rocks. Amianthus, the most delicate variety, comes most plentifully from Savoy and Corsica. Its fibrous texture, and the little alteration it undergoes in strong heats, caused it to be used by the eastern nations as an article for the fabrication of cloth, which, when soiled, was purified by throwing it into the fire, from whence it always came out clear and perfectly white; hence it obtained the name of apiavros, or undefiled. By the Romans, this cloth was purchased at an exorbitant price, for the purpose of wrapping up the bodies of the dead, previously to their being laid upon the funeral pile. The preparation of this cloth is effected by soaking the amianthus in warm water, rubbing it with the fingers, soaking the filaments in oil, when they are mingled with a little cotton, and spun upon the ordinary spindle. When woven into cloth, the fabric is heated red-hot, and the oil and cotton consumed, leaving only a tissue of pure amianthus. Paper may also be formed from this substance, in the way in which common paper is made, except that more size is requisite. A book has even been printed on such paper. (See Bibliomania.) Lamp-wicks have also been constructed from amianthus, but they require to be cleaned occasionally from the lamp-black, which accumulates upon them, and prevents the due supply of oil. In Corsica, it is advantageously used in the manufacture of pottery, being reduced to fine filaments, and kneaded up with the clay; the effect of which is to render the vessels less liable to break, from sudden alternations of heat and cold, than common pottery.

ASCANIUS, son of Æneas and Creusa, accompanied his father in his flight from the burning Troy, and went with him to Italy. He was afterwards called Iulus. He behaved with great valor in the war between his father and the Latins. He succeeded Eneas in the government of Latium, and built Alba, to which he transferred the seat of his empire from Lavinium. The descendants of A. reigned in Alba for above 420 years, making 14 kings, till the age of Numitor. A. reigned 38 years, and was succeeded by Sylvius Posthumus, son of Æneas by Lavinia. Iulus, the son of A., disputed

the crown with Sylvius; but the Latins gave it to the latter, as he was descended from the family of Latinus, and Iulus was invested with the office of high priest, which remained a long while in his family. ASCENDANTS, in law, are opposed to descendants in succession; i. e., when a father succeeds his son, or an uncle his nephew, &c., the inheritance is said to ascend, or to go to ascendants. (See Descent.)

ASCENDING, in astronomy, is said of such stars as are rising above the horizon in any parallel of the equator; and thus, likewise, ascending latitude the latitude of a planet when going towards the north pole. Ascending node is that point of a planet's orbit, wherein it passes the ecliptic to proceed northward. This is otherwise called the northern node.

ASCENSION; an uninhabited island, consisting of naked rocks; a shattered volcano, of about 60 miles in circumference, in the Atlantic ocean; lon. 14° 28′ W.; lat. 7° 56′ S. It has an excellent harbor, frequented by the East Indiamen and whalefishers. Fish, sea-fowl and turtles abound, but there is an entire want of water. The vegetation, scarcely sufficient to support some goats, is confined to an eminence in the south-east. In a crevice of the rock there is the sea post-office, as it is called-a place where bottles, closely sealed, are left with letters for passing vessels. This island formerly belonged to the Portuguese, who discovered it in 1501; but, in 1816, some English families from St. Helena settled here, on account of the inconvenience which they experienced from the residence of Napoleon. Ascension was then taken possession of, by the British government, as a military station, and 60 transport ships provided the garrison of 200 men with supplies from the cape of Good Hope. A road was laid out, and a fort was built. In 1821, the government resolved to continue the occupation of this post.

ASCENSION, in astronomy. We understand by the right ascension of a star, that degree of the equator, reckoned from the beginning of Aries, which comes to the meridian with the star. By the right ascension and declination, the situation of stars in the heavens is determined, as that of places on the earth by longitude and latitude. By oblique ascension, we understand that degree of the equator, counted as before, which rises with the star, in an oblique sphere.

ASCENSION DAY; the day on which the ascension of the Savior is commemorated, often called Holy Thursday. It is a mova

ble feast, always falling on the Thursday but one before Whitsuntide. (For the Ascension of the Virgin, a feast of the Roman Catholic church, see Assumption.) Much has been written on the ascension of Christ, in Germany, by Protestant Biblical critics, of whom we will only mention Semmler and Paulus.-The idea of ascension is common to the mythology of almost every nation.

ASCETICS; a name given, in ancient times, to those Christians who devoted themselves to severe exercises of piety, and strove to distinguish themselves from the world by abstinence from sensual enjoyments, and by voluntary penances. Hence those writings which teach the spiritual exercises of piety, are termed ascetic writings. Even before Christ, and in the times of the first Christian church, there were similar ascetics among the Jews (see Essenes), also among the philosophers of Greece, and in particular among the Platonics. The expression ascetic is borrowed from the Greek word doxnos (exercise), used by the ancient Greeks to signify the spare diet of the athleta, who, to prepare themselves for their combats, abstained from many indulgences. (For the character of the Christian ascetics, and the religious views by which they were guided, see Gnostics, Saints, Monks.)

ASCHAFFENBURG (the ancient Asciburgum, laid out by the Romans); a town in the Bavarian district of the Lower Maine, with 750 houses and 6200 inhabitants, on the Maine and Aschaff. It formerly belonged, with its territory, to the electorate of Mentz. The scenery is so beautiful, and the castle so fine, that Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, when he took possession of it, in his expedition to the Rhine, wished to transfer it, with its view, to lake Maler, in Sweden. After the dissolution of the electorate of Mentz, in 1811, A. became the summer residence of the prince primate, afterwards grand duke of Frankfort. ASCHAM, Roger, was born, in 1515, of a respectable family in Yorkshire. He was entered at Cambridge, 1530, and was chosen fellow in 1534, and tutor in 1537. In this period of religious and literary revolution, A. joined himself with those who were extending the bounds of knowledge. He became a Protestant, and applied himself to the study of Greek, which began, about that time, to be taught in England. There was yet no established lecturer of Greek: the university, therefore, appointed him to read in the open schools. He was not less eminent as a 35

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writer of Latin than as a teacher of Greek. He wrote all the public letters of the university, was afterwards Latin secretary to king Edward, and also to Mary. Cardinal Pole, who was particularly eminent for his skill in Latin, employed him to translate, for the pope, his speech in the English parliament. In 1544, he wrote his "Toxophilus, or Schole of Shooting," in praise of his favorite amusement and exercise-archery. This book he presented to the king, who rewarded him with a pension of 10 pounds. In 1548, the princess Elizabeth invited him to direct her studies; but, after instructing her 2 years, he left her without her consent, and, soon after, went to Germany as secretary to sir R. Morisine. In this journey, he wrote his Report of the Affairs in Germany. Upon the death of Edward, he was recalled, but preserved the office of Latin secretary to Mary, although a Protestant, through the interest of Gardiner. Upon the accession of his pupil, he was continued in his former employment, and was daily admitted to the presence of the queen, to assist her studies, or partake of her diversions, but received no very substantial marks of her bounty. In 1563, he was invited by sir E. Sackville to write the Schoolmaster, a treatise on education, which, though completed, he did not publish. To this work, conceived with vigor and executed with accuracy, he principally owes his modern reputation. His style was, in his own age, mellifluous and eloquent, and is now valuable as a specimen of genuine English. He was never robust, and his death, which happened 1568, was occasioned by his too close application to the composition of a poein, which he intended to present to the queen on the anniversary of her accession.

ASCLEPIADEAN VERSE consists of 2 or 3 choriambuses, and is accordingly distinguished into greater and less. It always begins with a spondee, and ends with an iambus:

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ASCLEPIADES, the descendants of the god of medicine, Æsculapius, by his sons Podalirius and Machaon, spread, together with the worship of the god, through Greece and Asia Minor. They formed an order of priests, which preserved the results of the medical experience acquired in the temples as a hereditary secret, and were thus, at the same time, physicians, prophets and priests. They lived in the temple of the god, and, by exciting the imaginations of the sick, prepared them to receive healing dreams and divine apparitions; observed carefully the course of the disease; applied, as it is believed, besides the conjurations and charms usual in antiquity, real magnetic remedies, and noted down the results of their practice. They were, accordingly, not only the first physicians known to us, but, in fact, the founders of scientific medicine, which proceeded from their society. The constitution of this medical family order was, without doubt, derived from Egypt, whence also the coluber Esculapii, Linn., which was used as a healing and prophetic serpent, was brought by the Phoenicians to Epidaurus, the chief seat of the god. Round this serpent-god an order of priests was gathered, and thence spread his worship. (In later times, 292 B. C., such a healing serpent was sent to the island of the Tiber, near Rome.) No one could be initiated into the secrets of their knowledge without a solemn oath. At first, this order of priests was confined to the family of the Asclepiades, who kept their family register with great care. Aristides celebrated them by his eulogiums at Smyrna. Hippocrates of Cos, the founder of scientific physic, derived his origin from it, and the oath administered to the disciples of the order (jusjurandum Hippocratis) is preserved in his writings. An Asclepiades from Prusa, in Bithynia, 20 years B. C., is mentioned as the first practical physician at Rome, and as the founder of the methodical school. In the course of time, strangers, also, as Galen reports, were initiated into these mysteries and this order. -We find the name of A. also in the literature of the Greeks. (See Dissertations on the Fragments of Asclepiades of Tragilus in the Actis Philologorum Monacensium, edited by Thiersch, 1st vol., 4th No., p. 490.)

ASELLI, or ASELLIUS, Caspar; an Italian anatomist of the 17th century. He was born at Cremona, studied medicine, and became professor of anatomy in the university of Pavia, where he highly dis

tinguished himself by discovering the lacteals, a system of vessels, the office of which is to absorb the chyle formed in the intestines, and thus contribute to the support of animal life. A. first observed these vessels in dissecting a living dog. His investigations were published after his death at Milan, 1627.

ASEN. (See Mythology, northern.)

ASHMOLE, Robert, a celebrated English antiquary and virtuoso, born at Lichfield, in 1617, was sent to London at the age of 16, where he studied law and other branches of knowledge, and practised as a chancery solicitor. On the breaking out of the civil wars, he retired to Oxford, and entered himself of Brazen-Nose college, where he engaged in the study of natural philosophy, mathematics and astronomy. On the ruin of the king's affairs, he returned to London, and formed a close intimacy with the celebrated astrologers Moore, Lilly and Booker, but shared only in their absurdity, not in their roguery. He subsequently married lady Mainwaring, a rich widow. On this accession of fortune, he gave up his profession, and his house in London became a resort of all the proficients and professors in the occult sciences. A., about this time, published, under another name, a treatise on alchemy, by the celebrated doctor Dee; and undertook to prepare for the press a complete collection of the manuscript writings of English chemists, under the title of Theatrum Chymicum Britannicum. Having for some time attached himself to the study of antiquity and the perusal of records, he began to collect materials for his celebrated History of the Order of the Garter. His love for botany having induced him to lodge with the celebrated gardener of Lambeth, John Tradescant, he obtained the curious collection of rarities got together by that person and his father. On the restoration, A. was gratified with the post of Windsor herald, and received other appointments, both honorable and lucrative; was admitted a fellow of the royal society, and favored with the diploma of a doctor of physic from the university of Oxford. In 1672, he presented to the king his work on the Order of the Garter, and, in 1675, resigned his office of Windsor herald. An accidental fire in the Temple destroyed a library which he had been upwards of 30 years collecting, with a cabinet of 9000 coins, and other valuable antiquities. In 1683, he presented to the university of Oxford his Tradescantian collection of rarities, to which he afterwards added his