proportionate length may, with a foreign reader, require some apology: out I persuade myself, that, with the American reader, the new and interesting information they contain will be deemed a sufficient reason for their not being further abridged. Such readers, too, will appreciate the value of many details of American history, which are not yet to be found, and could hardly be entitled to a place, in a general work upon that subject. Besides the contributions of Mr. Walsh, many new and valuable articles have been written by distinguished American scholars, particularly in relation to their own country, and to other parts of the American continent. The biography of living citizens of the United States has, for obvious reasons, been omitted; but the reader will find an account of our most distinguished foreign contemporaries. In Theology, and, indeed, in all the other departments of the work, the reader will not understand me as intending to give any opinions of my own, except when expressly so stated: my wish has been not to obtrude opinions, but to furnish facts. I have endeavored, as far as it was in my power, that the articles relating to any particular religious sect should present opinions and tenets as that sect would exhibit them; and, in cases where the same point of doctrine is considered differently by different sects, that the respective views of all should be given. The articles on the Fine Arts are, in the original work, particularly complete; and I hope the Encyclopædia Americana will, therefore, be found satisfactory in a department in which the English encyclopedias have hitherto been very deficient. The subject of Heraldry, which occupies so large a space in English encyclopedias, is wholly omitted in the original work; and it has been thought best to follow the example of the German editors in this particular, in order to make room for other matter of far greater value and interest in a country where the well-known sentiment of antiquity is felt in its full force Nam genus et proavos et quæ non fecimus ipsi Vix ea nostra voco. It is evident that a work of this description must be unequal; deficiencies will doubtless he observed; but in what similar work will they not be detected? It has been our endeavor, however, to correct such errors as existed in the German work, and in preceding English works of this kind. While criticising the faults of the present work, it is hoped that the reader will not overlook the improvements made upon the labors of past writers; and that he will keep in mind the remark of Scaliger-Lexicographis et grammaticis secundus post Herculem labor. If the present work shall conduce to the diffusion of knowledge in this fortunate country, whose happiness is founded on its liberty, and whose liberty is to be preserved only by widely-spread information; if it shall contribute to make known what has been done or thought, attained or suffered, by other portions of the human family; if it shall contribute to enlarge our views, and to destroy prejudices, to animate youth to a perseverance in virtue and to the pursuit of true glory, by exhibiting to them, on the one hand, the fearless votary of truth and patriotism, and, on the other, the real character of men whose perverted talents, however splendid, cannot redeem them from the severe but just sentence of impartial history;---I shall receive the most gratifying reward for the many laborious days which have been devoted to the present undertaking. Boston, Massachusetts, FRANCIS LIEBER, 1 Philos. Dr. For the sake of compression, the initial letter of the name of an article, instead of the whole name, is often used in the body of the article. The other abbreviations used are but few, and of the common sort, such as e. g., exempli gratia (for instance); i. e., id est (that is); q. v., quod vide (which see), signifying see that article. For other abbreviations which may be met with, see the article Abbreviations. In the alphabetical arrangement of words, the letter I has been separated from J, and the letter Ufrom V. Words to be found in Johnson's Dictionary, which, according to the plan of this Ency clopedia, would receive only a definition, have been seldom introduced into the list of articles. ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA. A, in almost all languages, is the first let ter of the alphabet, because, if pronounced open, as in father, it is the simplest and easiest of all sounds. This is the only mode of pronouncing it in almost every language except the English. To produce this sound, the mouth is merely opened, without the contraction or extension necessarily accompanying the utterance of either of the other vowels. A is the letter with which children generally begin to speak, and it serves to express many and even opposite emotions, e. g. admiration, pain, astonishment, laughter, (with the preceding H,) disgust, pleasure, according to the mode in which it is uttered. For the same reason, a is found, in all original languages, in many words which infants utter to designate the objects with which they are most nearly connected, e. g. in the names by which they call their parents. Hence, in Hebrew, am is mother, ab father; in old Greek and Gothic, atta is father; in Latin, mamma signifies the breast. Many philologists are of opinion, that a (as in father) was the original vowel in most of those words which designate objects expressive of great strength, quickness, &c., as these first attracted the attention of men; and it is true, that, in original languages, a appears in very many words belonging to the class just mentioned, e. g. the numerous rivers, Aa (pronounced like a as in father) in Switzerland and Germany, Jakarta (thalatta, Greek for sea.) A (as in father) is very rarely the predominating sound in the cries of animals. In these, the sounds ee, ow, u, and a, (as in fate,) generally prevail. We do not include the sounds of singing birds, which are inarticulate music, like that of wind instruments. The regularly arched roof of the human mouth, and the 1 VOL. 1. other fine organs of speech, with which the Creator has blessed mankind above all lower orders of animals, are necessary to pronounce the melodious sound a (open.) A is, generally speaking, the favorite sound of singers, because it is the most musical and full of those which the mouth of man can utter. Several diphthongal sounds, as i (in pine), are, in singing, to be resolved into a (open) and another simple sound. The frequent occurrence of a (open) in the Italian language, is one of the many causes which render the Tuscan dialect so favorable for music. The English language is the only one among the culti vated modern tongues, which has four (according to others still more) sounds for the single character a. Most of the modern languages, as French,Italian,German, &c., have only the open or Italian a, pronounced short or long. Other languages have also the sound of the English a, as in all, e. g. the dialect of Finland. In Greek, this letter, when prefixed to a word, has the power of negation, like the syllable un in English, and hence it was called alpha privativum. In many English words derived from the Greek, the a has the same power.—Among the Greeks and Romans, a was used as an arithmetical sign: by the former, for 1; by the latter, for 500. (See Abbreviations.)Ă, in music, the sixth diatonic j..terval of the first or lowest octave of the modern scale: a indicates the same interval in the second octave. As the capiti A is used in the first instance, and the small a in the next, the former is called the great octave, the other the small a, with a line above, denotes the saine interval in the third, and a, with two lines, the same interval in the fourth octave. The first of these, from each denomination of the note in the oc A.-ABBE. tave being designated by a line, is termed the one-lined octave, the other the twolined, and so on. A, major, is that key, in modern music, in which the sixth diatonic interval is assumed as the fundamental tone of the major key. To maintain the natural characteristic of the major, F, G, and c must be made sharp, F# G# C#. According to Schubart's Characteristics of Music, this key conveys the expression of innocent love, content, and cheerfulness. (See Key.) If any numeral figure is added to the letter A, when prefixed to a vocal composition, it denotes the number of voices for which the piece is intended: thus, A 3 signifies for 3 voices. AA, the name of a great number of rivers in Switzerland, Germany, France, and Holland; so, also, Aach, which is, in German, originally the same name with Aa, only pronounced with an aspirated termination. (See article A.) AACHEN. (See Aix la Chapelle.) AARGAU, ARGOVIA, ARGAU, formerly a part of the cantons Berne and Zurich, but since 1798 a separate canton. In 1803 it received a large accession of territory. Capital, Arau; population, 132,763. Several liberals have fled, in modern times, from Germany, and lived for a while in A., protected by government. (See Swiss Confederacy.) AARON, (Heb. a mountaineer,) the brother of Moses, and first high-priest of the Israelites. (See Moses.) AARON, or HARUN AL RASCHID. (See Harun and Caliph.) ABACUS signified, among the ancients, a kind of cup-board, or buffet. They were, in times of great luxury, plated with gold. It also signified a table covered with dust, on which the mathematicians drew their mathematical figures, as the pupils of the Lancastrian schools do at present. It also signified an ancient instrument for facilitating arithmetical operations, which was, with the ancients, very necessary, as their way of writing numbers rendered any calculation very difficult. In architecture, Vitruvius tells us, it was originally intended to represent a square tile laid over an urn, or rather over a basket. The form of the abacus is not the same in all the orders of Greek architecture. Modern architects have given different significations to the word abacus. (See Architecture.) ABATIS, (Fr.) Trees cut down and laid with their branches turned towards the enemy, in such a way as to form a defence for troops stationed behind them. They are made before redoubts, or other works, to render attacks difficult; or sometimes along the skirts of a wood, to prevent the enemy from getting possession of it. In this case, the trunks serve as a breastwork, behind which the troops are posted, and for that reason should be so disposed that the parts may, if possible, flank each other. Abatis may sometimes be of essential service by retarding the progress of the enemy. ABAUZIT, Firmin, was born in Languedoc, 1679. In consequence of the revocation of the edict of Nantes, his mother, who was a Protestant, took refuge with her son in Geneva. He engaged with such eagerness in his studies, that he made great proficiency in languages, theology, antiquities, and the exact sciences. At the age of nineteen, he travelled into Holland, where he became acquainted with Bayle and Basnage. Thence he passed into England, where he was favorably noticed by Newton, and invited to remain by king William on very advantageous conditions. He determined, however, to return to Geneva, and, devoting himself to study, he rendered important assistance to a society engaged in translating the New Testament into French. In 1727, he was appointed public librarian in Geneva, and was presented with the freedom of the city. He died in 1767. Abauzit was a profound scholar, a true philosopher, and a sincere Christian. His conversation was unostentatious, but instructive and animated. He was simple in his manners, independent and decided in his opinions, but a friend to universal toleration. He defended the Principia, and even detected an error in that work, when very few men could understand it. Newton declared him "a fit man to judge between Leibnitz and himself." Rousseau describes him as the "wise and modest Abauzit ;" and Voltaire pronounced him "a great man." His knowledge was extensive in the whole circle of antiquities, in ancient history, geography, and chronology. In theology his researches were deep, and his moderation enabled him to avoid the violence of theological parties. His works are chiefly on theological subjects. An Essay on the Apocalypse, Reflections on the Eucharist, and On the Mysteries of Religion, are his principal writings. ABBAS, ABBASSIDES. (See Caliph.) ABBÉ, before the French revolution, was the title of all those Frenchmen who devoted themselves to divinity, or had at least pursued a course of study in a theological seminary, in the hope that the king would confer on them a real abbey; that is, a certain part of the revenues of a mon astery. (See Abbés commandataires.) Or ABBE.-ABBOT. damned clergymen were those only who devoted themselves entirely to the performance of clerical duty: the others were engaged in every kind of literary occupation. There were so many of thein, poor and rich, men of quality and men of low birth, that they formed a particular class in society, and exerted an important influence on its character. They were seen every where; at court, in the halls of justice, in the theatre, in the coffee-houses. In almost every wealthy family there was an abbé, occupying the post of familiar friend and spiritual adviser, and not seldom that of the gallant of the lady. They corresponded, in a certain degree, to the philosophers who lived in the houses of the wealthy Romans in the time of the emperors. A round toupet, a short, black, brown, or violet coat, completed the appearance of an abbé. The king ABBES COMMENDATAIRES. of France had formerly the right of appointing abbots over two hundred and twenty-five monasteries. These abbots enjoyed a third part of the revenues of the monastery, but had no authority over it, the charge of superintendence being Accommitted to a prieur claustral. cording to rule, every abbot ought to receive ordination in the course of a year, but the pope dispensed with the rule, and the abbé spent his income (from 1200 to 150,000 French livres) wherever he pleased. This shocking abuse excited the indignation of the people, and was one of the causes of the revolution. The lower sinecures of this kind, the abbayes des savans, were used as pensions for learned men; the richer, to provide for the younger sons of the nobility. ABBEY. (See Abbot and Monastery.) ABBOT, George, archbishop of Canterbury, born 29 Oct. 1562, studied at Oxford. When the translation of the Bible was begun, in 1604, by order of king James, Abbot was one of the eight divines to whom it was committed. In 1609, he went to Scotland to assist in effecting a union between the kirk of that country and the church of England, and conducted the business with much • moderation and address. In Dec. 1609, he was made bishop of Litchfield and Coventry; in Jan. 1610, bishop of London; in Nov. following, archbishop of Canterbury. His enemies ascribed his rapid promotion to flattery of the king. In 1613, however, he opposed James' project of a divorce between lady Frances Howard and the earl of Essex, and, in 1618, the royal declaration, permitting Sunday sports, which he prohibited the reading of in church. His health declining, he went to Hampshire for recreation, and, being invited to a hunt by lord Zouch, had the misfortune to shoot the game-keeper with an arrow aimed at a deer from a cross-bow. This accident affected him so much, that, besides settling an annuity of 201. on the widow, he kept, during the remainder of his life, a monthly fast on Tuesday, the day of the unhappy event. Though troubled with the gout, he performed the ceremony of crowning Charles I. He was never much in this monarch's favor, and was suspended from the exercise of his functions as primate, on refusing to license a sermon preached by Dr. Sibthorpe, in justification of a loan demanded by the king. At a meeting of parliament he was restored, and died at Croydon, Aug. 5, 1633, aged 71. ABBOT, Charles, from 1802 till 1817 speaker of the British house of commons; born 1755, studied at Westminster. His father was Dr. Abbot, minister of All Saints' church, at Colchester. Impelled by the desire of distinction, he devoted himself to the study of the law, though possessed of a considerable fortune. His object, however, was not professional reputation, though he had an extensive practice in the court of chancery. On account of a Latin poem which he wrote on the empress of Russia, Catherine II., the Russian ambassador in London presented him, in the name of the empress, a gold medal. He wrote some treatises on legal subjects, and was chosen in 1790, 1796, and 1802, into the house of commons. As a member of parliament, he exerted himself to introduce better order into the printing and distribution of the acts of parliament; and endeavored, though in vain, to effect a reform in the phraseology of the statutes, which should make them more perspicuous. In 1795, he supported Pitt's famous Riot Act, and always attached himself to the ministerial party. In 1796, he proposed, as chairman of the committee of finance, an amendment in the promulgation of the laws, which was accepted. In 1799, he supported the imposition of the income tax. In 1800, he proposed to impose upon the collectors of the public revenues the interest of the sums uncollected, in order to prevent deficits in their returns; and voted to continue the Mutiny Bill till 1807. He was successively first secretary of state in Ireland |