GIN were reduced to 10,000, which the French opposed with OURT. an army amounting, according to some historians to 100,000, but Hume reckons them at about four times the number of the English. When some of his nobles expressed a wish for the assistance of their brave compeers in England, Henry is said to have exclaimed," No! I would not have one man more; if we are defeated, we are too many; if it shall please God to give us the victory, as I trust he will, the smaller the number, the greater our glory." The intrepid monarch having reconnoitred the ground on the preceding evening, by moon-light, determined, if possible, to draw the overwhelming force of the enemy into a chosen situation which presented itself, where they could only bring a small portion of it into action. He then spent the remainder of the night in devotion, while the French were revelling in the confidence of victory. In the morning he disposed his troops with admirable dexterity on a declivity near this village, defended on each side by a wood. The first line commanded by the duke of York was wholly composed of archers, four in file, each of whom, beside his bow and arrows, had a battle axe, a sword, and a stake pointed at each end with iron, which he fixed before him to receive the French cavalry; 200 archers were in the wood in ambush on the right, and 400 pike men on the left. Early in the morning Henry rode along the lines to animate the troops with every promise of reward that could inspire their courage, and with terrific accounts of the cruelty of the enemy. A short pause ensued, during which the king was apprehensive that the French would see their danger, and decline the battle upon this spot; he therefore sounded the charge, and his archers first kneeling and kissing the ground, advanced to the attack. The conflict soon became furious and general. The French troops encumbered by their own numbers, fell rapidly under the English archery; until the archers themselves being anxious to come to close fight, threw away their bows, and mowed down their opponents with their swords and battleaxes. The first line having thus bravely "done its duty," Henry advanced in person with the second, attended by his youngest brother, the duke of Gloucester; and was almost immediately attacked by the duke d'Alençon, who had vowed either to kill the king or take him prisoner, or to perish in the effort. The unparalleled success of Henry, however, did not forsake him; he hewed down his adversary, after a brave struggle on both sides; and the French dispirited and in utter confusion, fled in every direction. They are said to have left 10,000 men dead on the field, while 14,000 fell into the hands of the English as prisoners; amongst the slain were reckoned 1,500 knights, 92 barons, 13 earls, a marshal, the archbishop of Sens, and the constable of France. Hume says, (6 no battle was ever more fatal to France." On the side of the English, the duke of York fell early in the battle, and the duke of Gloucester was dangerously wounded, but the total loss is stated, by some accounts, only at forty men; though the French writers, with more probability, make it from 300 to 400. Henry, on his return to England, early in the following month, was almost adored by his subjects. Shakespeare makes this battle one of the principal features of his historical Drama of Henry V., and it has become one of the proverbial trophies of English valour. Monstrelet describes the English monarch, not as being at the village of Azin cour, but at what he calls Maisconcelles; but the fact AGINwas, that Henry, at the close of this glorious day, COURT. enquiring the name of the adjacent town, was answered AGITATE. Azincourt, "Then," said he, "to all posterities following, this battell shall be called the Battell of Azincourt." Speed's Theatre of Great Britain. Maisconcelles, however, was a village not far distant. AGIO, an Italian word, signifying aid; is chiefly applied in Holland and in Venice to denote the difference between bank money and the common currency. Thus, 100 livres or dollars, bank money, being equal to 105 livres or dollars currency; the agio in this case is five livres or dollars. The rates of agio differ in different countries, and vary according to political or commercial circumstances. At Venice the agio was formerly fixed by law at 20 per cent. At Genoa it was between 15 and 16 per cent. AGIOSYMANDRUM (from ayos, holy, and σεμαίνω, I signify), a wooden instrument used by the Greek churches in the Turkish dominions as a call to public worship. It was introduced as a substitute for bells, which the jealousy of the Turks prohibited to the Christians, lest they should be made subservient to conspiracies against the state. AGIST', v. In Law, (probably from our old AGISTMENT. law-French giste, a lying place), the lying, and consequently pasturing, of one man's cattle in another's ground, on payment of a certain sum of money, or other good consideration. cattle thus grazed are sometimes called gistments. Agistment also means the profit arising from this practice. Agistor is the person who feeds the cattle. The A forest hath laws of her own, to take cognizance of all trespasses; she hath also her peculiar officers, as foresters, verderers, regarders, agisters, &c. whereas a chase or park hath only keepers and woodHowell's Letters. wards. If a man takes in a horse, or other cattle, to graze and depasture in his grounds, which the law calls agistment, he takes them upon an implied contract, to return them on demand to the owner. ld. AGISYMBA, in Ancient Geography, a district situated in the western part of Libya interior, and to the south of the Equator. It was separated from the Atlantic ocean by a tribe of Ethiopians, said to be cannibals. The country to the south of Agisymba was unknown to the ancients. AGATHEMERUS, b. ii. c. 7. It is supposed to be the modern Zanguebar; but D'Anville places it on the eastern coast. AG'ITATE, v. AGITATION, AGITATOR. taphorically, to discuss. Agito: ago: to act frequently. To act with frequent and repeated motion; to shake. Me To keep the mind in constant action; to disturb, to distract. I was alwaies plaine with you, and so now I Shakespeare. Merchant of Venice, act iii. As when a wandering fire, Compact of unctuous vapour, which the night Condenses, and the cold environs round, Kindled through agitation to a flame, Which oft, they say, some evil spirit attends, Hovering and blazing with delusive light, Misleads the amaz'd night-wanderer from his way. Milton. P. L. book ix. speake my agitation of the matter. The minds, even of the virtuous, are agitated by the words of the base. Sir Wm. Jones's Hitopadesa. In every district in the kingdom, there is some leading man, some agitator, some wealthy merchant, or considerable manufacturer, some active attorney, some popular preacher, some money-lender, &c. who is followed by the whole flock. Burke. On the Duration of Parliaments. AGITATION, among Physiologists, is sometimes exclusively applied to that species of earthquake called tremor, arietatio. Dr. Fleming, in the Royal Society Transactions of Edinburgh (vol. i.), mentions a most remarkable one, which affected the water of Loch Tay, in the Highlands, in 1784, and a river to the north of it, for upwards of a month. Phil. Trans. Lond. 1756, 1762, &c. contain similar accounts. AGITATION, in Medicine, a term applied to the act of swinging, and to other exercises recommended medicinally, for violently affecting the body. AGITATOR, in Antiquity, a charioteer; or sometimes he who directed horses in the circus, in the public races or games. AGITATORS, in English History, were persons elected by the army in 1647, to watch over its interests; and to control the parliament, at that time sitting at Westminster. Two private men, or inferior officers, were appointed from each troop or company, and this body, when collected, were presumed to equal the House of Commons; while the peers were represented by a council of officers of rank. Cromwell availed himself of the Agitators, as the first instruments of his ambition; but afterwards issued orders for suppressing them. These associations, so dangerous to the constitution, gave rise to the act which forbids any member to enter either House of Parliament armed, a regulation enforced with jealousy to this day. AGLAIA, in ancient Mythology, sometimes called Pasithea, the youngest of the three graces, and espoused to Vulcan. AGLUTITION (a priv. and yλvw, to swallow), a difficulty of swallowing, or deglutition. AGMEN, in the Ancient Military Art, the Roman army when on a march; the order of which Polybius has thus described in his 6th book. He says, when the trumpets first sounded, the tents were taken down, and the baggage collected; at the second signal, the baggage was put upon the pack-horses; and at the third signal, the whole army put itself in motion. In the first line were the extraordinarii, who were choice troops, then the right wing of the allies; the first and second legions followed, and the left wing of the allies brought up the rear. The cavalry rode either behind, or on each side. If danger threatened the rear, the extraordinarii took their station there; but the order of the troops, with respect to each other, was changed every day, that all in turn might share the danger and fatigue of the march. The baggage followed the divisions of the troops to which they belonged. The army, when drawn up in order of battle, was called acies; but agmen and acies sometimes occur as synonymous words. DELL AGMET, a town of Morocco, on the western decli- AGME vity of the Atlas, formerly the capital, and still giving name to a district. It is 18 miles S. E. of Morocco, and AGNA in a decayed state. N. lat. 30°, 56'. W. lon. 7o, 15'. AGMONDESHAM, or AMERSHAM, a town of great antiquity, in Buckinghamshire, about 31 miles S. E. of Buckingham, and 26 N. W. of London. It is situated in a valley near the chalk hills, on the high road to Buckingham, and consists of a long wide street, interand contains, sected near the middle by a smaller one, according to the census of 1811, 419 houses, and a population of 2,259 persons. It is a borough town, sending two representatives to Parliament, generally branches of the Drake family, to whom the manor belongs. Montague Garrard Drake, great grandfather of the present members, died its representative in 1728; and this family has been seated here upwards of two centuries, at their noble seat of Shardeloes. The electors are the lord's tenants, paying scot and lot. Sir William Drake, Bart. bought this borough of King Charles II. It anciently belonged to Anne Nevil, wife of Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, who was slain at the battle of Northampton, in the year 1460. Afterwards it became the property of the celebrated Guy, Earl of Warwick, whose lands were seized by Edward IV. but restored by Henry VII. to his widow, Ann Beauchamp. The crafty monarch, however, did this only for the purpose of having it more formally conveyed to himself. Henry VIII. gave it afterwards to Lord Russel, and it became the property of the present owners, by an intermarriage with the daughter and heiress of William Tothill, Esq. in the reign of James I. Near the spot where the small street crosses the larger one, stands the parish church, a tolerably spacious brick edifice, covered with stucco. It is deemed one of the richest rectories in the county. Here also is a town-hall, or market-house, a handsome brick building, raised on pillars and arches. It was erected in the year 1682, by Sir William Drake, Knight, nephew to the baronet of that name, before mentioned. Sir William also erected and endowed an alms-house, for six poor widows. This town derives a degree of melancholy historical interest, from its having been the scene of some dreadful burnings, in the days of religious persecution. An instance of this kind, which took place in the reign of Henry VII. merits particular notice, from the infernal ferocity of its character. A William Tillsworth, who had indulged in some abuse of pilgrimages, and the "worship of images," was ordered to be publicly burnt alive; and his own daughter was compelled to set fire to the devouring pile! Amersham has some trade in lace, sacking, and also in cotton goods; but it cannot be deemed a flourishing or very busy town; there has been, however, an increase, since 1801, of above 150 houses. AGNADELLO, or AQUADELLO, a small town or village of Italy, in the duchy of Milan, situate on the banks of the Adda and Seris, about 12 miles from Lodi. It is now famous only for having been the scene of several military engagements, particularly for the victory which the French king, Louis XII. obtained over the Venetians, in the year 1509; and for that of the duke of Vendome over Prince Eugene, in the year 1706; if, indeed, this latter affair can be deemed a victory over a general, who thereby gained to himself, through the bravery and skill of his retreat, as much AGNA- glory as his enemy obtained by his discomfiture. It was DELLO. within a few miles of this place, that the late Emperor Napoleon so greatly signalized himself during his campaigns in Italy. AGNES. AGNANO, a lake in Italy, near the sulpherous valley of Solfatara, in the neighbourhood of Naples. It is about an Italian mile in circumference, and is described as representing the crater of a volcano, having the shape of an inverted cone; its sides and bottom being encrusted with lava and pumice-stone. Notwithstanding the frequent apparent fermentation to which its waters are subject, it does not possess any sensible heat; several aquatic fowls are constantly to be seen on its surface; its interior produces fish, and a singular species of frogs, which in their tadpole, or early state, have hinder parts like a fish, with the round head and leg of their own species. AG'NATE, adj. Ad: nascor, natus: born to, AGNATICK, of kin to. Legally applied by AGNA'TION. Blackstone, to issue derived from the male ancestors. By an attentive examination of the peculiarities in enunciation which each people have, in the one way or the other, by a fair reciprocal analysis of the agnate words they reciprocally use, I think a much greater agnation may be found amongst all the languages in the northern hemisphere of our globe. Pownall on the Study of Antiquities. This I take to be the true reason of the constant preference of the agnatic succession, or issue derived from the male ancestors, through all the stages of collateral inheritance. Blackstone's Commentaries. AGNATE, in Law (agnati, among the Romans), a term applied to male descendants from the same father. In Scotland, agnates are those male descendants which are nearest to the father, to the exclusion of all females. AGNEL, an old French gold coin, which is supposed to have derived its name from the figure of a lamb, which it bore on one side. It was first struck by St. Louis, and was valued at nearly thirteen sols. AGNES, ST. one of the Cassiterides, or Scilly Isles, about a mile and a-half from St. Mary's. It contains an area of 300 acres, and is extremely well cultivated and fruitful, both in corn and grass; but they have but little good water, the best being rain-water, which is collected upon the leaden floor of the gallery of the light-house. This light-house, which has often proved of signal service to mariners, was erected in the year 1680, at the expence of Captains H. Till and S. Bayley, and has since been supported by the corporation of the Trinity-house, Deptford. It is a stone pillar, upwards of sixty feet high, and is raised upon the most commanding and lofty eminence in the island. Twentyone Argand lamps are placed in the respective centres of as many parabolic reflectors of copper, disposed in three clusters of seven each, on a frame standing perpendicularly to the horizon; and so constructed as to turn round, on a common shaft or center, every two minutes, by which motion all parts of the surrounding horizon receive in succession the benefit of these brilliant lights. This comparatively recent disposition of the lights was suggested by Mr. Adam Walker, a wellknown lecturer in natural and experimental philosophy. Prior to this the lights were stationary, and were emitted through sixteen large sashed windows. The island is commonly denominated Light-house Island." Here is a small church, in which divine service is performed by a minister appointed by the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, in whose absence prayers are usually read by some layman resident on the island. AGNES. The population is between two and three hundred. W. lon. 6°, 20'. N. lat. 49°, 53'. AGNIERS, a tribe of Iroquois Indians, who distinguished themselves for some years by their resistance of the French in their first settlement at Canada. AGNIZE', v. Agnosco: agnitum: ad; nosco, AGNITION. S to acknowledge. } Iesus of Nazareth was borne in Bethlem, a city of Iuda: where incontinent by the glorification of the angels, the agnition of the shepherds, the veneration of the wise men, the prophecy of holy Simeon, and the admiration of the doctours he was bad in honour. Grafton, vol. i. p. 58. That he may deliuer vp vnto Messias at his comyng, a people not vtterly vntraded or vnentered i his discipline but somwhat prepaired already & instructed therunto with ye agnisyng & knowlageyng of theyr owne synfulnesse. Udall. Luke, c. i. fo. 7, c. ii. The tirant custome, most graue senators, I find in hardnesse. Shakespeare. Othello, act i. In evil times, undaunted, though alone, Edwards. Canons of Criticism. AGNO, or L'AN 10, a river of Naples, which falls into the gulf of Greta: and a town of Switzerland, near Lugano, on a river of the same name. AGNOETE (ayvoɛw, not to know), a name sometimes given to a sect of the 4th century, which disputed the omniscience of God, and stated that he knew past occurrences only by a superior memory, and things future by a limited prescience. In the 6th century, the followers of Themistius, a deacon of the Alexandrian church, received the same name, from their alleging that Christ was ignorant of certain future events, as, particularly the period of the day of judgment; an hypothesis which they founded on Mark xiii. 32; and were so far of the same sentiment, as the modern Unitarians. Socinus and his associates maintained similar opinions; that God possesses not an infinite knowledge, and cannot have a determinate and certain acquaintance with the future actions of intelligent beings; that he changes his mind, alters his purposes, and adapts his measures to rising circumstances.-SOCINI Opera, tom. i. 543-9. CRELLIUS de Deo et ej. Attr. cap. xxxii. AGNOMEN, a name often added among the Romans to the three names usually borne by men of noble family; the first of which, called Prænomen, distinguished the individual, in a similar way to what is called the Christian name in modern times; the second, or nomen, marked his clan; and the third, or cognomen, expressed his family. In addition to these, a fourth name was sometimes obtained, on account of some noble action or remarkable quality of the mind: as Africanus, the agnomen given to Publius Cornelius Scipio, for his conquests in Africa; or Cunctator, given to Quintus Fabius Maximus, for his constantly declining battles, when offered by Hannibal.. The term Agnomen was only used when a new name was conferred on those who already had three; for although Romans who had but two names only, frequently obtained a third, characteristic of some signal event of the individual's history, or accomplishment of his mind; it was then called the Cognomen. Thus Caius Mutius, the young Roman who attempted the life of Porsenna, and failing in the attempt, thrust his right hand into the fire burning before the king, was sur AGNOMEN. Locrine III. Which, in memorial of victory, Shall be agnominated by our name. White is there usurpt for her brow; her forehead: and then sleek, as the paralell to smooth, that went before. A kind of paranomasic, or agnomination: doe you conceive, sir. Ben Jonson. Poetaster, act iii. Among other resemblances, one was in their prosody, and vein of versifying or rhyming, which is like our bards, who hold agnominations, and enforcing of consonant words or syllables one upon the other, to be the greatest elegance. Howell's Letters. AGNUS DEI, literally The Lamb of God, in the Church of Rome, is a term applied to certain representations, made in wax, of a lamb, bearing the triumphal banner of the Cross, and similar to those sculptured ornaments so common in most of our old churches and cathedrals. These figures are consecrated by the pope himself, and are distributed, at certain periods, among the people, to be carried in religious processions. The pope first delivers them to the master of the wardrobe, by whom they are given to the cardinals and attending prelates, who receive them in their respective caps and mitres with great form and reverence. From these superior officers and ecclesiastical persons, they are conveyed to inferior priests; and from them they are received by the people at large, who preserve them, generally, in a piece of stuff, or cloth, cut into the shape of a heart. The most intelligent persons of the Catholic persuasion venerate these consecrated memorials simply as they do any other memorabilia of the Christian faith; but by the vulgar and superstitious, great mystical virtues are ascribed to them; and they at one time had become articles of sale in most Catholic countries; accordingly, by statute 13 Eliz. c. ii, it was enacted, that those who should bring into England any Agnus Dei's, grains, crucifixes, or other things consecrated by the bishop, of Rome, should undergo the penalty of præmunire." Indeed, the Agnus Dei was never very common in this country, being principally confined to Spain and the more immediate territories of the Papal states, where the Catholic religion was maintained in its greatest pomp and splendour. The figure has always been deemed an appropriate emblem of the triumph of the Cross over the errors and abominations of Paganism; and on that account, has been used as ornaments in most ecclesiastical edifices, both at home and abroad, and by the Reformed as well as by the Roman Catholics. This name is also given to that part of the sacrifice of the mass, where the officiating priest, striking his breast thrice, rehearses the prayer Agnus Dei," "Lamb of God," &c. and then divides the sacrament into three parts; a practice, it is said, first introduced by Sergius I.; but of this there is considerable doubt: the divisions of the accidents was certainly long prior to his pontificate; and as to the song Agnus Dei, for any thing that appears, it might have been introduced into 66 the service by Sergius II. or even by Sergius III. the AGNU predecessor of Formosus. AGO', a. AGON', AGONE', YGON', AGO'ING. Ago, Agon, Agone, Ygo. were all used as the past participle of the verb, To go. Agoing, is, In going. For in swiche cas wimmen have swiche sorwe Chaucer. The Knightes Tale, vol. i. p. 111. This was the old opinion as I rede I speke of many hundred yeres ago. Id. The Wif of Bathes Tale, vol. i. p. 260. For right anon on of the fires queinte Chaucer. The Knightes Tale, voi. i. p. 92. A clerk ther was of Oxenforde also, Id. The Prologue. The Clerk, vol. i. p. 12. ? 4 SAT. Is he such a princely one, Ben Jonson's Oberon. To present this, writ many years agone, Marlow's Jew of Malta. Court Prol. For news the world is here turn'd upside down, and it hath been Howell's Letters. long a going so. They [eclipses] may on divers occasions help to settle chronology, and rectify the mistakes of historians that writ many ages ago. Ray's Wisdom of God in the Creation. An euthusiast to the bards find primeval charms in the rudest ballad that was bawled by the mob three or four hundred years ago. Walpole's Anecdotes on Painting. Dear Joseph-five and twenty years ago— Couper. To Joseph Hill, Esq. meaning, however differently applied; and may be AGOG', a. Gig and Jig have probably the same from the Gothic Gaggan, AS. gangan, to go, to gang. Agog is applied to the alert, eager, emotions of hope, Agog is applied to the alert, eager, emotions of hope, expectation, anticipation. agog that doe tarrie. And worst of all, the women that doe go with them, set them Golden Book, y. 5. Neither am I come to please thee, or to set the agog with a vain salutacion, but I am come unto thee as a messagier of a matier bothe passyng ioyful, & also verai great. Udall. Luke, c. i. fol. 9. c. 2. The gaudy gossip when she's set agog, Dryden. Juven. Sat. vi. They [the gipsies] generally straggle into these parts about this time of the year, and set the heads of our servant-maids so agog for husbands, that we do not expect to have any business done as it Spectator, N° 130. should be whilst they are in the country. AGOGE, in Ancient Music, certain bars of music which were performed in the gradual descent or ascent of the regular and approximating notes; as G. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, or G, F, E, D, C, B, A, G; or, as we are taught to sing, re, mi fa, sol, la-la, sol, fa, mi, re. AGOO AGON. AGON', n. AGONIS'TICAL, AGONISTICK, A'GONIZE, A'GONY. Agonize and Agony: to those bodily or mental struggles and conflicts which are accompanied by excessive pain. Aywv: certamen, conflictus; a contest, a conflict, a struggle. Agon and Agonistical are particularly applied to the contests of prize fighters. And he was maad in agonye, and preiede the lenger, and his swoot was maad as dropis of blood rennynge doun into the erthe. Wiclif. Luke, chap. xxii. And he was in an agonye, and prayed the longer. And bys sweate was lyke droppes of bloud, trycklynge downe to ye groude. Bible, 1539. Ib. And thus wepende she complaineth Hir faire face and all disteineth With wofull teares hir eie, So that vpon this agonie Her husbonde is in come And sawe how she was ouercome With sorrow, and asketh hir what hir eileth. Gower. Con. A. book i. Spenser. Faerie Queene, book i. c. ii. Milton. Paradise Lost, book ix. These cast themselves into very great, and peradventure needless agonies, through misconstruction of things spoken about proportioning our griefs to our sins, for which they never think they have wept and mourned enough. Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity. Commonly, they that, like Sisyphus, roll this restless stone of ambition, are in a perpetual agony. Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy. Were finer optics given Tinspect a mite, not comprehend the heaven? Or touch, if tremblingly alive all o'er, To smart and agonize at every pore. Pope. Essay on Man, essay i. He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground; Dryden. Palam, and Arcite. It is usual, when the agonies of death approach, to have the mind stupified, the soul busie and struggling to quit it self from its ruinous habitation, and the whole man so disordered, that there is neither opportunity nor disposition for prayer when we have most need. Comber's Companion to the Temple. Our calling, therefore, doth require great industry; and the business of it consequently is well represented by those performances, which demand the greatest attention, and laborious activity; it is styled exercise, agonistic and ascetic exercise. Barrow's Sermons. They must do their exercises too, be anointed to the agon, and to the combat, as the champions of old. Sancroft's Sermons. The bitter agonies I underwent in this my first acquaintance with myself were so far from throwing me into despair of that mercy which is over all God's works, that they rather proved motives to greater circumspection in my future conduct, Guardian, No 18. The virtue and good intentions of Cato and Brutus are highly laudable; but to what purpose did their zeal serve? Only to hasten the fatal period of the Roman government, and render its convulsions and dying agonies more violent and painful. Hume's Essays. AGON, a town of Normandy, in France, on the northern coast, department of La Manche, arondissement of Coutances. AGON, the name of the person who struck the victim at an heathen sacrifice. Ovid, Fast. i. 322, says he stood prepared to perform his office, but first asked the officiating priest Agone? or Agon? to which the priest replied, Hoc Age! which expressions are supposed to have occasioned the name. AGONALIA, were festivals held at Rome in honour of Janus, or Agonius, in the months of January, May, and December; Ovid derives the name from Agon, the title of the priest who slew the victim. Fast. i. v. 322. They were instituted by Numa. AGONES, in Antiquity, were the contests of which the public games consisted. They were first instituted by the Greeks; and such were chiefly adopted as tended to cherish personal vigour and the national courage; as wrestling, boxing, running, &c. But there were others, in which the poets, musicians, and learned men entered into competition, or gave specimens of their several accomplishments. The most noted games in Greece, were the Olympian, the Pythian, the Nemean, and the Isthmian. Of these, the first was celebrated with the greatest marks of national rejoicing, and its return, every fifth year, became an æra by which were computed the events of history. The Olympian games were instituted about 1200 years before Christ. The victors in these games received a branch of palm, or crown of laurel; but the great reward for which they strove was public fame; and the story related by Cicero, Tus. lib. i. c. 46, after Plutarch, shows how blest they were thought who obtained this; for a Lacedæmonian meeting Anaxagoras (himself in his youth a victor, and who now saw his two sons crowned at the games), exclaimed to him, "Now die, Anaxagoras, for you cannot be a god." Among the literary men who exhibited their abilities at these games, Herodotus is conspicuous, both for having recited his history there, and for having thus roused to emulation the young Thucydides who heard him. The emperor Nero instituted games of a similar kind among the Romans, called Neronia, which were celebrated every fifth year; and consisted of contests in music, wrestling, and horse-racing. Tacitus, 1. xiv. c. 20. Another was established by Aurelian, named the Agon Solis, or "Contests of the Sun;" and a third by Dioclesian, called Agon Capitolinus. At this last the poet Statius recited his Thebaid. AGONISMA, the name of the prize with which the victor at the Grecian contests (Agones) was presented; generally, a branch of palm, or crown of laurel. PINDAR. Pythion, ode viii. ver. 28. AGONISTICI, in Ecclesiastical History (aywv, combat), a name given by Donatus, to certain members of his sect who were sent to preach at the fairs and markets, 2 F AGON. AGONISTICI. |