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ST. PIERRE, BERNARDIN de, an ingenious | SCHILLER (pronounced Shiller), John Chris French writer, author of the popular tale of "Paul and Virginia," b. 1737, d. 1814.

Storm in the Indian Ocean, 200. SAL'AMIS, an island on the eastern coast of Greece, celebrated for a naval victory gained over the Persians by the Greeks, B. C. 480. The present name of the island in Colouri.

SALT. The allusion (p. 385, line 5) is to an ancient custom. Salt, if used too abundantly, is destructive of vegetation, and causes a desert. Hence, as an emblem of their doom, destroyed cities were sown with salt, to intimate that they were devoted to perpetual desolation. There is an allusion to the practice in Judges 9: 45.

SAMARITANS, a mixed race of Israelites and Assyrian colonists, who, in the time of the Saviour, were looked on with great dislike by the Jews. The Samaritans took their name from Samaria, their capital city. The race is now dwindled down to a few families. The Saviour's parable of the "good Samaritan" (Luke 10: 30) has made the phrase proverbial.

SA ATIVE (Lat. sano, I heal), having the power to cure or heal. SAN FRANCISCO, a city on the bay of that L..me on the west coast of North America. The growth of this city has been unprecedented in the world's history. In 1847 it was an insignificant place; through the discovery of gold in California, it is now a great city. For a description of its local and maritime advantages, see p. 290.

SAND, GEORGE, the name assumed in her published writings by Madame Dudevant, a French novelist, of great but irregular and not always well-directed talents. Fxtract from, p. 439.

SANIOUS sa'nious), pertaining to sanies,

which is a thin, reddish discharge from wounds or sores.

SANSCRIT (that is, the perfect), the present dead language of the Hindoos, in which the books of their religion and laws are written. It is understood now by the Brahmins alone. The Hindoos are the people of Hindostan' in Asia. SANTILLANE (pronounced San-teel-yah-ne in Spanish; San-teel-yahn in French; the a in both as in father). Santillana

is the name of a town in Spain. SARMATIA, the ancient name of Poland. SATURDAY (in Latin, Satur'ni dies, Saturn's day), so called from the planet Saturn.

SATURNALIA (săt-ur-nā'-li-a), a feast among the Romans in honor of Saturn, an old Italian divinity. The Sa-tur'nian period was the golden age, according to the poets.

SAVOYARD (pronounced in French Să-vo-ayar'), a native of Savoy, a duchy bordering on France, Switzerland, and Piedmont. Many of the organ-grinders and exhibitors of shows in Paris are Savoyards.

topher Frederic von, one of the most illustrious poets of Germany, was born at Marbach, in Wirtemberg, in 1759; died 1805. The extract (p. 343) is from his celebrated historical tragedy of Wallenstein, admirably translated by Coleridge. SCHOOL. The Greek word schole, from which this is derived, means leisure, spare time; that is, spare time for study; implying that the time must speedily come when our opportunity will be past, and the engrossing occupations of life will leave us little leisure, comparatively, for storing the mind. The word school is sometimes used by seamen as synonymous with shoal: thus we hear of a school of fishes, as on p. 400. In this sense the word seems to be derived from the Saxon sceol, a crowd.

On our Common Schools, 185. The Schoolmaster Abroad, 269. SCHOOLMEN, the teachers of that method of philosophizing which arose in the schools and universities of what are commonly called the middle ages embracing the period from the reign of Constantine, A. D. 325, to the era of the invention of printing, 1450-1455. The Schoolmen adopted the principles of Aristotle, and spent much time on points of nice and abstract speculation. Their works are now little read. SCHOTTEL, The Seasons, from the German of, translated by Charles T. Brooks, 83. SCHUBERT, a German writer, from whom the extracts on Telegraphs (p. 376) and on Photography p. 379) were translated by the Rev. W. Furness. SCHWANAU, pronounced Shvar'no. SCIENCE (Lat. sciens, knowing, present participle of scio, I know), in its most comprehensive sense, knowledge, or certain knowledge. The knowledge of reasons and their conclusions constitutes abstract, that of causes and effects and of the laws of nature natural science The science of God must be perfect, the science of man may be fallible. See p.

419.

SCOTT, SIR WALTER, eminent as a poet, a novelist, and a historian, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1771, and died 1832. His death was accelerated by too great mental effort made to relieve him self from pecuniary difficulties incurred by the failure of his publishers. A few minutes before he sank into the state of unconsciousness which preceded his death, he called his son-in law and biographer, Lockhart, to his bed-side, and said, "Lockhart, I may have but a minut to speak to you. My dear, be a good man, -be virtuous, be religious, - -be a good man. Nothing else will give you any comfort when you come to lie here." Let every youth take the admonition to heart, as if it had been addressed per ally to himself by this good and gifted Scott an Early Riser, p. 226. Pibroch of Donuil Dhu, 46. Hymn of the Hebrew Mail, 164.

man.

Humanity of Bruce, 173. Coronach, 258.

BCRIPTURE (Lat. scriptum, past participle of scrib-erë, to write), a writing. By way of distinction, the word is applied to the books of the Old and New Testament, as being the one Scripture needful; just as the term Bible (from the Greek biblos, a book) is applied by way of eminence to the one book.

SCURRILOUS (Lat. scurra, a buffoon), using low, obscene, or abusive language. SEASONS, POETRY OF THE, in four parts, 83, 297, 337, 374, 433.

SEGUR, COUNT DE, quoted, 329.
SELECT PASSAGES, in Prose, 367.

In Verse, 100, 113, 177, 256, 309, 410. SELF-KILLING, by Chambers, 171. SEMI, a Latin prefix, signifying half; as semi-diameter, half a diameter. SEMINARY (Lat. seminare, to sow), literally, a place where seeds or first principles are implanted; hence, a school, a place of education.

SE-MIR'AMIS, an Assyrian queen, wife of Ninus. Her history is much mixed up with fabulous matter. She won great battles, founded many cities, and erected buildings of rare magnificence; but she was cruel, unscrupulous, and treacher

ous.

SENTIMENT (Lat. sentio, I discern by the senses, I feel), hence it is a thought prompted rather by feeling and impulse than elaborated by the judgment; wherefore sentiment should be under the check and control of principle. SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven), so called from its being the seventh month in the od Roman year, beginning with March. It is the ninth month of our year. SEQUA'CIOUS (Lat. sequax), following, pursuing. It is a poetical word. SERGEANT, JOHN, an eminent American lawyer and statesman, who died in 1853.

Declaration of Independence, 381. SEVEN SAGES. The "seven sages" of Greece (referred to p. 429) were Periander, or, as some say, Epimenides, Pit'tucus, Thalēs, Solon, Bias, Chilo, and Cleobu'lus. All of them, except Thales, acquired their distinction by their practical wisdom in regard to the affairs of life. They seem to have been the Franklins of their day. They flourished about 600 B. C.

SEX'TANT (Lat. sextans, the sixth part, the limb of the instrument being the sixth part of a complete circle), an astronomical instrument, used principally at sea for measuring the altitudes of celestial objects, by which the latitude in which a ship may be is ascertained. BHAKSPEARE, WILLIAM, or Shakespeare, as his name is sometimes spelled, was born in the little town of Stratford on the Avon, in Warwickshire, England, in April, 1564, and died in 1616, having just completed his fifty-second year. By all who can read the English language he is accounted the greatest dramatic writer

of any age. Little is known of his life.
His means of education must have been
imperfect; but he must have supplied
the want by much solitary and intense.
though, perhaps, desultory, study. On
his Power of Expression, p. 312.

Adam and Orlando, 319.
Isabella and Angelo, 320.
Brutus and Cassius, 350.
Scenes from Hamlet, 371.

Passages from Shakspeare, 391. Wolsey and Cromwell, 421. SHE DIED IN BEAUTY, p. 178. SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE, an English poet, b. 1792; drowned by the upsetting of a boat on the Gulf of Lerici, near Leghorn, 1822. He had great genius, unquestionably, but was conceited and presumptuous, undertaking, while yet a boy, to settle questions in philosophy and religion, which, to grapple with fitly, requires a lifetime of study and meditation. His intimate friends were of opinion that, had he lived, the goodness of his heart would eventually have corrected the errors of his head, and that poetry would have worked the cure of his irreligion. Address to a Sky-lark, by, 415. SHERIDAN, RICHARD BRINSLEY, distinguished as an orator and dramatist, was born in Dublin, in 1751; died 1816. He had splendid abilities, but was wanting in that high and steadfast moral principle which could control his appetites, and keep him from being immersed in debt. Anecdote

of, p. 278. Extract from his speech against Hastings, 268.

SHELL, an instrument of music; the first lyre being made, it is said, by drawing strings over a tortoise-shell. SHIP, THE, by Wilson, 228. SHORE. This word is the old past participle of the verb to shear. "Shore" (says Tooke), "as the sea-shore, shore of a river, is the place where the continuity of the land is interrupted or separated by the sea or the river." The word shore also means a prop or support for a building, ship, &c. SICKLE (sik').

This word is from the Latin sec'ula, a sickle, which is from seco, I cut. SIDNEY, SIR PHILIP, was born in 1554, in Kent, England. He wrote "The Defence of Poetry," and other works. He commanded a detachment of forces sent to assist the people of the Netherlands against the Spanish, and fell in a victorious engagement near Zutphen (pronounced zoot'fen), in 1586. See anecdotes of, 172, 278.

SIEGE (seej). The word is derived from the Latin sedo, I sit; and an armed force is sometimes said to sit down before a town. A siege is the act of besetting a fortified place with an army. To raise a siege is to relinquish a siege, or cause it to be relinquished.

SIERRA (si-er'ra) is the Spanish name for a

saw. Applied to a ridge of mountains, it

suggests the resemblance of their outline to that of a saw.

SIGNOR, the French mode of spelling the Spanish señor, a title of respect, pronounced seen'yur.

BIMMS, WM. G., an American poet and miscellaneous writer, born 1806, in South Carolina. Quoted, p. 298. SI'NE-CURE (Latin, sine, without, cura, care), an office which yields profit, with little of no care attending it.

SIRRAH (pronounced sir'rah, or săr'rah), a word of reproach, probably derived from Sir ha!-though this derivation is disapproved by Webster.

See Lark.

SKY, THE, Our neglect of, 263. SKY-LARK, TO THE, 415. SLOUGH, pronounced slou, when meaning a miry place; and stuf, when meaning the cast skin of a serpent, or the part that separates from a foul sore.

SLUG, to lie idle, to play the drone.
SMITH, HORACE, an English poet and essay-
ist, b. 1779, d. 1849.

On the Coming of Spring, 298.
To the Flowers, 337.

SMITH, REV. SYDNEY, an English clergyman, and a contributor to the Edinburgh Review; distinguished for his wit. He was born 1768, died 1845.

Labor and Genius, 214. Resistance to Ridicule, 368. SOCLE (so'kl or sok-kl), in architecture, a square member, whose breadth is greater than its height; used instead of a pedestal for the reception of a column. It differs from a pedestal in being without base or cornice. It is derived from the Latin soccus, a shoe.

SOC'RA-TES, one of the greatest intellects of any age, was born in Greece, B. C. 470. He taught the immortality of the soul, and strove constantly to enlighten and improve men, to make them happy here, and give them faith in a life hereafter. He believed in one God, to whose providence he traced all human blessings. Being accused of hostility to the popular religion, he was condemned to drink hemlock, a powerful poison, which he did with perfect composure, and died in the seventieth year of his age, retaining to the last his high and hopeful faith. Plato was his most eminent disciple. BOLILOQUY (Lat. solus, alone, and loquor, I speak), a talking to one's self. Contrasted Soliloquies, 80. Soliloquy of Van Artevelde, 384. SOPHIST (Gr. Sophos, wise), a Greek word, originally signifying a wise person, but afterwards restricted to a bad sense, as the persons calling themselves sophists, through their vain subtleties and dishonest arguments, fell into disrepute; so that sophistry came to mean fallacious reasoning, or reasoning sound in appearance only.

SOPHOCLES (Sof-o-cles), a Greek dramatic poet, b. 495 B. C. In his ninety-fifth year he is said to have expired from joy, in consequence of the unexpected success

of one of his dramas. Extract from, translated by Lytton, 436. SORCERER (the o pronounced as in nor). This word is from the Latin sortitor, a caster of lots, and means a con'jurer, a wizard.

SOUNDS AND LETTERS, 15.
SOUND AND SENSE, 236.

SOUR-KROUT, cabbage cut fine, pressed, and
left to ferment till it is sour, 181.
SOUTH, ROBERT, an eminent English divine,
b. 1633, d. 1716. Quoted, p. 314.
SOUTHEY, ROBERT, an English poet and mis-
cellaneous writer, born in Bristol, in 1774,
died in 1843. He was appointed poet-
laureate (see Laureate) in 1813.
He was

a very diligent writer, but overtasked his brain to such an extent that he was insane the last few years of his life. The remarks on self-killing (p. 171) apply to his

case.

The Cataract of Lodore, 36.
The Complaints of the Poor, 63.
Comfort in Adversity, 113.
The Father's Return, 136.

Night in the Desert, 178.

A Fair Day in Autumn, 374. SPAIN. The kingdom of Spain comprises nearly four-fifths of the Pyr-e-ne'an penin'sula, separated from France by the Pyrenees. It is a thoroughly mountainous country. Its chief articles of export are wines, fruits of southern Europe, salt, olive-oil, corks, quicksilver, and a little wool. By the fanatic and insensate proceeding of expelling the Moors (the last remnants of whom were driven out of the country in 1609), Spain lost 800,000 of her most diligent and industrious inhabitants, and the consequences were fatal both to her manufacturing and agricul tural interests. Thus does injustice, in the order of Providence, carry with it its own punishment, to nations as well as to individuals!

SPARTA OF LAC-E-DÆMON, one of the most powerful states of ancient Greece. The distinguishing traits of the Spartans were severity, resolution, and perseverance. Defeat and reverse never discouraged them. Their children were early inured to hardship, and at a certain annual festival they were severely flogged, for the purpose of enabling them to bear pain with firmness. Whoever uttered the least cry during the scourging was disgraced. See story of the Spartan boy, p. 77. SPECIAL (special), designating a species or sort; particular, peculiar. Special pleading, in law, is the allegation of special or new matter, as distinguished from a direct denial of matter previously alleged on the opposite side. A special verdict is one in which the facts of the case are put on the record, and the law is submitted to the judges.

SPIDER. The Apologue of "The Spider and the Bee" (p. 108), from one of the early productions of Swift, had reference to an active contest going on at the time between the advocates of ancient learning

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and those of modern learning. The Bee | STOMACH, COMPLAINT OF A, 157.
represents the Ancients, the Spider the STORM, on the Mountains, 333.
Moderns. The Apologue may be not un-
justly applied to those "self-applauding
writers of the present day, who, "fur-
nished with a native stock," and despising
accuracy and careful investigation, under-
value the importance of study and in-
struction. See Swift.

SPINACH (generally written, as pronounced,
Spin'age), a garden plant, the leaves of
which are boiled for greens.
SPIRIT (Lat. spiro, I breathe). The word
primarily signified a breathing or gentle
blowing of air. According to Locke,
"spirit is a substance in which thinking,
knowing, doubting, and a power of mov-
ing, do subsist."

The Body's Motive Power, 138.
SPONTA-NEITY (Lat. sponte, of free will),

voluntariness.

SPRAGUE, CHARLES, on the Indians, 303.
SPRING, POETRY OF, 117, 297.
SQUEERS, a character in Dickens's tale of
"Nicholas Nickleby;" the exaggerated
type of a class of schoolmasters who once
existed in England.

STALACTITES (Gr. stalak'tis, that which

drops), a concretion of carbonate of lime,
hanging like an icicle from the roofs of
caverns, &c., and formed by the gradual
dropping of water holding the carbonate
in solution.

ETAR. "He saw a star shoot," &c. (p. 92).
The meteors, commonly called falling or
shooting stars, are supposed to be masses
of matter inflated with phosphureted hy-
drogen gas, and which, being spontane-
ously ignited, shoot from the upper region
of the atmosphere in a downward direc-
tion to the earth. The will o' the wisp,
or ignis fatuus (Latin for fire of fools), is
supposed to have a similar origin, though
formed nearer the ground from decom-
posing substances.

BTARBOARD. Standing on the deck of a
ship, with the face towards the bowsprit,
the side to the right is the starboard,
that to the left the larboard.
STILL (Lat. stillo, I drop), a vessel, or ap-
paratus, used in distilling liquors.
STOCK. Of this word, in its various mean-
ings, Trench says, "They are all derived
from and were originally the past parti-
ciple of to stick, which, as it now makes
stuck, made formerly stock; and they
cohere in the idea of fixedness, which is
common to every one."
STO'ICS, a celebrated sect of antiquity, so
called from the stoä (porch or portico), in
Athens, where Zeno, the founder of the
sect, taught (B. C. 300). The Stoics are
proverbially known for the sternness and
austerity of their doctrines. They repre-
sented virtue chiefly under the character
of self-denial; but, with a strange incon
sistency, did not disapprove of suicide.
They studied to make themselves indiffer
ent at once to the pleasures and pains of
sense, and to exercise complete control
over the passions.

in the Indian Ocean, 200.
STORY, JOSEPH, a distinguished American
judge and writer on law, was born in
Marblehead, Mass., 1779, died 1845. He
was associate justice in the Supreme
Court of the United States, having been
appointed in 1811.

Fulton's First Steamboat, 324.
STREET, ALFRED B., an American poet (b.
1812) remarkable for the fidelity of his
descriptions of forest scenery. Quoted p.
297.

STRID'ULOUS, from the Latin stri'dulus,
making any harsh or hissing sound.
STRONG DRINK MAKETH FOOLS, 294.
STUDY OF WORDS, Trench on the, 119.
SUCCESSIVE. To preserve the metrical har-

mony of the line (p. 321, line 32), the ac-
cent may here be placed on the first syl
lable in reading. The labors of lexicog'-
raphers (dictionary-makers) had not
fixed the accent of a large class of words
in Shakspeare's day. Success'ive is now
properly accented on the second syllable.
SUFFIX (Lat. sub, under, fixi, I have
fixed), a letter or syllable added to the
end of a word; a postfix.

SUFFOLK and NORFOLK were the two broad
divisions of "southern" and "northern
folk" into which the eastern part of Eng-
land was divided.

SUMMUM BONUM. See Bonum.
SUMMER, POETRY OF, 337.
SUNDAY, the first day of the week, is said to
derive its name from the Saxons, who
consecrated it to the sun in heathen
times.

SUPERSCRIPTION (Lat. super, upon, and
scripsi, I have written), the act of writ
ing upon; also the address, or direction
written.

SWIFT, JONATHAN, a celebrated political and
miscellaneous writer, born in Dublin,
Ireland, in 1667. He was a great master
of irony and satire, but many of his writ-
ings will be deservedly forgotten, for their
coarseness. He was created a Dean (an
ecclesiastical dignitary) in 1713. In 1739
his intellect gave way, and he expired an
idiot, "a driveller and a show," in 1745.
With all his failings, he was a very great

man.

The Spider and the Bee, 108.
SWORD. Webster's preferred pronunciation
of this word is sword, although he admits
sord, which is the mode preferred by
Walker, Sheridan, Smart, Worcester, and
other eminent philologists.

The Sword and the Press, 255.
SYC'OPHANT. The derivation of this word is
curious and amusing. It is from the
Greek sykos, a fig, and phaino, I dis
cover; and originally meant an in-
former against those who stole figs,
Hence it came to signify a tale-bearer
then a parasite, one who tries to obtain
the favor of another by flattery, or by tell-
ing tales of those whom he would sup
plant.

SYLLABLES, Derivation of, &c., 24.
SYMMES, JOHN, an American sea-captain,
who entertained a fanciful theory that the
earth was a hollow sphere, which might
be entered by sailing to a point on the
North Pole.
SYNONYME (written also syn'onym, and so
pronounced) is from the Greek words
syn, with, and on'ōma, a name. A noun,
or other word, having the same significa-
tion as another, is its synonyme.
BYRACUSE (now Syragosa) was anciently
the chief city of Sicily, and one of the most
magnificent cities in the world.
SYSTEM (Gr. syn, with, and istēmai, I
stand) is, in astronomy, an hypothesis
of a certain order and arrangement of the
celestial bodies, by which their apparent
motions are explained.

TABBY, a term formerly applied to certain
figured silks, on which an irregular pat-
tern had been stamped with an irregular
surface, so as to give rise to the appear-
ance called watered. A tabby-cat is a
cat of diversified color.

TABLE-LAND, elevated flat land, with steep
acclivities on every side.

TAD MOR, subsequently called Palmyra,
which see.

TALENTS. In our use of the word "talents"
(ays Trench), as when we say "a man of
talents" (not of "talent" for that, as we
shall see presently, is nonsense), there is
a clear recognition of the responsibilities
which go along with the possession of intel-
lectual gifts and endowments, whatsoever
they may be. We draw, beyond a doubt,
the word from the parable in Scripture in
which various talents, more and fewer,
are committed to the several servants by
their lord, that they may trade with them
in his absence, and give account of their
employment at his return. Men may
choose to forget the ends for which their
talents were given them; they may turn
them to selfish ends; they may glorify
themselves in them, instead of glorifying
the Giver; they may practically deny
that they were given at all; yet in this
word, till they can rid their vocabulary of
it, abides a continual memento that they
were so given, or rather lent, and that
each man shall have to render an accouut
of their use.

TALFOURD, THOMAS NOON, an English author
and judge, b. 1795, d. 1854. He is most
favorably known as the author of the
tragedy of "Ion." Extract from his ad-
dress before the Manchester Ly-ce'um, p.
314.

TAM'ERLANE, called also Timour, one of the
most celebrated of Asiatic conquerors, was
born about forty miles from Samarcand'
in Central Asia, in the year 1335. He
conquered the Turkish Sultan Bajazet in
1402, and the want of shipping alone
prevented him from crossing into Europe.
Civilization looked with terror to his ad-
vance. He died in 1405. See p. 254.
TARPAULIN (tar-po'lin), a piece of canvas

covered with tar to render it water
proof.

TAYLOR, HENRY, an English dramatic and
ethical writer, b. about 1799. Quoted,
384.

TAYLOR, JANE, the daughter of an artist in
London, was born in 1783, died 1823.
She wrote much and well for the young.
The Scholar's Pilgrimage, 61.
Contrasted Soliloquies, 80.

Abuse of the Imagination, 369.
TEACHERS, THEIR CALLING, 186.
TELEGRAPH (tel'e-graf). This word is from
the Greek tēlē, afar off, and grapho, I
write; and applies to a machine for com◄
municating intelligence from a distance,
either by signals or by electro-magnet-
ism. See pp. 376, 378.

TELESCOPE (Greek tele, afar off, skōpeo, I
look at), an optical instrument for view-
ing distant objects.

TEMPE (Tem-pe), a beautiful and cele-
brated valley of Thessaly, on the river
Peneus, in the northern part of ancient
Greece. It had Mount Olympus on the
north, and was much celebrated by the
poets. Its woods have now disappeared,
and there are cotton-works established on
its site.

TENNYSON, ALFRED, poet laureate of Eng
land, was born about 1809. Quoted, p.

258.

TERRA'QUEOUS (Lat. terra, earth, and aqua,
water), consisting of land and water, as
the earth.

TERSE (Lat. tersus, rubbed off). A terse
style, or diction, is that in which there are
no more words than are necessary to ex-
press the thought.

TES'TER, the top covering of a bed.
TEUTONIC, pertaining to the Teutons, a peo-
ple of Germany. By the "Teutonic stock
of languages," the root of all the present
German idioms is meant.

THAMES (pronounced těmz), a river of Eng-
land, on which London is situated.
THE TWO PALACES, 219.

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Discontented Miller, 222.
Two Roads, 92.

Present Time, 93.

"Blind Street-Fiddler, 93.
"Wind and Rain, 208.
"Village Preacher, 218.
26 Free Mind, 277.

THEATRE (Gr. theat'ron, from theaomai, 1
behold), a place for seeing; in modern
use, a place for dramatic representa-
tions.

THEBES, an ancient city of Upper Egypt, on
both sides of the Nile, about two hundred
and sixty miles south of Cairo. Thebes is
famous as "the city of a hundred gates."
Its present ruins extend about eight miles
along the Nile; and yet its glory belongs
to a period prior to the commencement of
authentic history. Thebes was also the
name of a city in Greece, the capital of
Boeotia.

THE-OD'OLITE, a surveyor's compass, fur
nished with a small telescope for the more
accurate measurement of angles.

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